Disparities in Access to Spasticity Chemodenervation Specialists in the United States: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: The aim of the study is to explore variations in access to spasticity chemodenervation specialists across several geographical, ethnic, racial, and population density factors.

Design: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study on Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data. Providers with substantial adult spasticity chemodenervation practices were included.

Upper Limb Spasticity: The Quality of Online Patient Resources.

Objective: The aim of the study is to assess the quality, readability, content, accessibility, and structure of online resources for patients with upper limb spasticity.

Design: This was a cross sectional study examined Internet searches across three search engines related to patient resources for upper limb spasticity. Search phrases for either hand or upper limb spasticity were used.

Occupational Characteristics Associated With Professional Fulfillment and Burnout Among US Physiatrists.

Introduction: Multiple national studies suggest that among physicians, physiatrists are at increased risk for occupational burnout.

Objective: The aim of the study is to identify characteristics of the work environment associated with professional fulfillment and burnout among US physiatrists.

Design: Between May and December 2021, a mixed qualitative and quantitative approach was used to identify factors contributing to professional fulfillment and burnout in physiatrists.

Training Characteristics, Academic Accomplishments, and Motivation of Current Program Directors in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

This study aimed to report the training characteristics, academic accomplishments, and motivation of current US academic physical medicine and rehabilitation program directors.A 22-question survey was developed and disseminated via email in May 2020 to 91 current residency program directors who are members of the Association of Academic Physiatrists Residency Fellowship Program Director Committee. Follow-up emails were sent 2 and 4 wks after initial distribution, and the survey was closed after 6 wks in June 2020.

Challenges and Opportunities in Academic Physiatry: An Environmental Scan.

Environmental scans determine trends in an organization's or field's internal and external environment. The results can help shape goals, inform strategic decision making, and direct future actions. The Association of Academic Physiatrists convened a strategic planning group in 2020, composed of physiatrists representing a diversity of professional roles, career stages, race and ethnicity, gender, disability status, and geographic areas of practice.

Factors Associated With Burnout in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residents in the United States.

Objectives: The aims of the study were to determine the prevalence of burnout in physical medicine and rehabilitation residents in the United States and to identify the personal- and program-specific characteristics most strongly associated with residents reporting burnout.

Design: This was a cross-sectional survey of US physical medicine and rehabilitation residents. Emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and burnout were assessed using two validated items from the Maslach Burnout Inventory.

Development and Implementation of an International Virtual Didactic Series for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Graduate Medical Education During COVID-19.

Coronavirus disease of 2019 presented significant challenges to residency and fellowship programs. Didactic lectures were particularly affected as redeployment of faculty and trainees, limitations on in-person gathering, and other barriers limited opportunities for educational engagement. We sought to develop an online didactic series to address this gap in graduate medical education.

Health Care Disparities Add Insult to Spinal Cord Injury.

The authors describe the disparities and increased risk of traumatic spinal cord injury Black Americans face because of violence. This article should serve as a realization of these inequities and as a call to action to improve the equity of rehabilitation services in this population to improve outcomes.

Models of Care for Postacute COVID-19 Clinics: Experiences and a Practical Framework for Outpatient Physiatry Settings.

After surviving infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, individuals may have persistent symptoms and prolonged impairments that may last for weeks to months. The frequency and heterogeneity of persistent post-COVID conditions have created challenges in care. Specialty clinics are being established in response to an increasing need to care for patients with postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 or long COVID syndrome.

Training Characteristics, Academic Accomplishments, and Motivation of Current Chairs in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Objective: The aim of the study was to report the training characteristics, academic accomplishments, and motivation of current United States academic physical medicine and rehabilitation chairs.

Design: The authors developed a 23-question survey that was disseminated via e-mail to 86 current chairs who were members of the Chairs Council from the Association of Academic Physiatrists in May 2020. Follow-up e-mails were sent 2 and 4 wks after the initial distribution, and the survey closed after 6 wks in June 2020.

Awareness of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation as a Specialty Among US Medical Students.

The objectives were to assess US medical students' awareness about physical medicine and rehabilitation, their career goals that may align with physical medicine and rehabilitation, and their exposure to physical medicine and rehabilitation and to compare the demographics of those applying to, interested, or not interested in physical medicine and rehabilitation residency. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. An online survey was distributed to 76 medical schools, and 2067 students responded.

Prevalence and Treatment Characteristics of Spastic Hypertonia on First-Time Admission to Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation.

Objective: The aim of the study was to report the prevalence of spasticity and treatment patterns during first-time admission to inpatient rehabilitation after acute stroke, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury.

Design: This is a retrospective cohort study.

Methods: A review of 285 adult patients consecutively admitted to inpatient rehabilitation was conducted.

Parking Meters to Touch Screens: The Unforeseen Barriers That Expansion of Telemedicine Presents to the Disability Community.

Greater than 25% of annual healthcare expenditures in the United States are associated with the medical needs of people with disabilities. People with disabilities often experience inequalities with access to healthcare services, resulting in increased costs of living with disability. The economic burden of living with a disability results in nearly US $400 billion spent annually from combined public and private payor sources.

Demographics and Durable Medical Equipment Needs of Persons With Disabilities in a Charitable Rehabilitation Clinic.

This study characterizes the demographics and durable medical equipment needs of persons with disabilities to improve utilization and management of resources at a philanthropic rehabilitation clinic. Paper charts from all encounters between 2013 and 2018 were reviewed. Data collected include sex, age, ethnicity, insurance status, diagnoses, and durable medical equipment requested/received.

Evaluation of Diversity and Inclusion Presence Among US Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency Program Websites.

The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of diversity and inclusion promotion among US physical medicine and rehabilitation residency program Websites. A list of physical medicine and rehabilitation residency programs was obtained from the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database. The program Website links were obtained from the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database or Google.

The Women Physiatrists Facebook Group: Evaluating the Value of a Private Online Community.

This study evaluated Women Physiatry Facebook group members' perceptions of the value of an online community. The authors hypothesized that members would find the group protective against burnout, and early career participants would be more likely to use the group for education and networking. This was a cross-sectional survey study of women physicians in the field of physical medicine and rehabilitation primarily in the United States.

Beyond a Hashtag: Strategies to Move Toward a More Inclusive Physiatry Workforce.

The field of physical medicine and rehabilitation should strive for a physician workforce that is ethnically/racially, sex, and ability diverse. Considering the recent realities of disparities in health outcomes related to COVID-19 and in racial injustice in the United States, we are called to be champions for antiracism and equity. The specialty of physical medicine and rehabilitation should be the leaders in fostering a culture of inclusion and pay special attention to the population of applicants who are underrepresented in medicine.

Spasticity Outpatient Evaluation via Telemedicine: A Practical Framework.

The COVID-19 global pandemic has resulted in significant changes to delivery of care in the field of physiatry. Most prominently, in-person visits have fast tracked to virtual visits. As we are forced to quickly adopt this new technology for our doctor-patient interactions, many questions remain with regard to structuring telemedicine visits for optimal outcomes.

African American Patient Disparities in COVID-19 Outcomes: A Call to Action for Physiatrists to Provide Rehabilitation Care to Black Survivors.

SARS-CoV-2 is a novel and highly contagious coronavirus that has been a major threat to the public's health. As the pandemic has spread across the United States, it has become abundantly clear that vulnerable populations include not only the elderly and individuals with disabilities but also those who are homeless or incarcerated, Latinx Americans, African Americans, and Native Americans. This report is focused on the experience of Black patients, inclusive of African Americans, and recognizes the higher morbidity and mortality in this population.

Ethnic and Racial Diversity in Academic Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Compared with All Other Medical Specialties.

The primary aim of this study was to compare ethnic/racial diversity in academic physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) with all other medical specialties in academia. The secondary aim was to characterize the ethnic/racial diversity of current PM&R program directors. Self-reported ethnicity/race information was collected from the Association of American Medical Colleges and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

Point-of-Care Procedures in Physiatry: Practice Considerations During the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Coronavirus disease 2019 is an active pandemic that has required rapid conversion of practice patterns to mitigate disease spread. Although recommendations have been released for physicians to postpone elective procedures, the utility of common physiatry procedures and their infectious risk profile have yet to be clearly delineated. In this article, we describe an update on existing national recommendations and outline considerations as practitioners and institutions strive to meet the needs of patients with disabilities.

Disparities in Health Care for Hispanic Patients in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the United States: A Narrative Review.

In the United States, the number of people with Hispanic backgrounds is rapidly increasing. This growth, along with other factors, may put them at increased risk for healthcare disparities. Thus, physical medicine and rehabilitation should evaluate disparities in health services through the lens of the evidence base.