European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine
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Eur J Phys Rehabil Med · Jun 2009
Inpatient rehabilitation facilities under the prospective payment system: lessons learned.
For better or for worse, third-party payers are the major drivers of rehabilitation care, and the largest payer for inpatient rehabilitation care in the United States remains the Medicare program. Reimbursement for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRF) remained unchanged for many years after the establishment of the program. With the transition of the program to a Prospective Payment System (IRF-PPS), Medicare intermediaries have begun to strictly enforce the new regulations they developed. ⋯ They need to identify and document appropriate rehabilitation diagnoses and comorbidities that will produce the greatest reimbursement. They need to document accurately the admission functional status based upon a 72-hour observation period. Most of all, research needs to demonstrate the types of patients who benefit from IRF admissions.
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Eur J Phys Rehabil Med · Mar 2009
Case ReportsIntrathecal ziconotide and baclofen provide pain relief in seven patients with neuropathic pain and spasticity: case reports.
Seven cases of combination of intrathecal (IT) ziconotide and baclofen therapy in patients with refractory neuropathic pain and spasticity were reviewed. Five of the seven adult patients were receiving IT baclofen treatment when ziconotide was initiated. All five patients had experienced at least one previous failed IT treatment regimen. ⋯ Treatment regimens varied between patients in these case series; each regimen used a different titration strategy and different concentrations of ziconotide and baclofen. Combination IT ziconotide and baclofen therapy may be a treatment option for patients with neuropathic pain and spasticity. Future studies are warranted to determine the optimal dosing and titration schedules for ziconotide-baclofen usage.
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Eur J Phys Rehabil Med · Mar 2009
Comparative StudyA comparison of functional assessment instruments and work status in chronic back pain.
The aim of this cross sectional study was to analyse whether low back pain (LBP) functional assessment instruments correlate well with work status measures. ⋯ The studied standard LBP outcome measures and work status are not interchangeable. The impact on work status should not be assumed based on the severity of these outcome measures and should be recorded as a separate outcome measure in chronic low back pain.
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Eur J Phys Rehabil Med · Mar 2009
Les Annales de Réadaptation et de Médecine Physique publication in 2008.
In 2008 the European Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ESPRM) established a network of European journal and promoted collaboration among the European Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM) journals. In this connection, the authors present here the articles published in the Annales de Réadaptation et Médecine Physique in 2008. In the same time, the European Journal presents in the Annales de Réadaptation et Médecine Physique its main articles of year 2008. ⋯ Sixty-four papers are described, with a coverage of all the fields of PRM, from childhood to elderly, from basic science to clinical research, from case studies to epidemiological works. The aim of this paper was to provide physiatrists with some articles of the Annales de Réadaptation et Médecine Physique related to their working condition. Next year, the name of our journal will become Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, as most of the articles will be published in French and in English, with the hope that more and more European authors and readers will find it more convenient.