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Evaluation

Practice Related Session Proposals

Advancing PM&R Bold

Session Name: Concurrent Sessions

1302 - Improving Efficiency in Patient Throughput in Acute Care – Demonstrating the Value of Physiatry

Thursday, November 16, 2023
2:15 PM - 3:30 PM CT
Location: CC 220-222
In-Person On Demand

    Session Director(s)

  • Jonathan H. Whiteson, MD (he/him/his)

    Vice Chair, Clinical Operations. Medical Director of Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation
    Rusk Rehabilitation
    New York, New York

    Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose

    • Faculty(s)

  • Sarah A. Welch, DO, MPH

    Assistant Professor
    Department of PM&R, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
    Nashville, Tennessee

    Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose

  • Kelly Michanczyk, MD

    Resident
    Vanderbilt University Medical Center | Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
    Nashville, Tennessee

    Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose

  • Alexandra Williams, Other (she/her/hers)

    Medical Student
    Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Tennessee

    Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose

The COVID-19 pandemic exemplified the value of rehabilitation in acute hospital care and yielded professional relationships with new practice partners. The impact of physiatric care reinforced and increased awareness that physiatrists bring a unique and essential skill-set to the efficient and effective care of patients in acute care. Physiatrists possess the essential skills to coordinate the rehabilitation process through and beyond the hospital setting enhancing efficiency through an episode of care. However, many physiatrists engaged in acute care hospital consults remain underutilized with negative patients and health system consequences.
In this session we will highlight the value of physiatrists in the hospital system, reviewing opportunities to build collaborative care processes with other specialties and health system leadership – the C Suite. We will review different approaches to formalize hospital consultative engagement. We will discuss how hospital physiatry presence can broaden opportunities for health system strategic planning, administrative and leadership roles. We will present research supporting early physical medicine and rehabilitation consultation positively impacts functional status, reduces acute care length of stay, and improves patient outcomes. We will also discuss gaps in knowledge and future opportunities. We will review a quality improvement project conducted at an academic medical center aimed at improving engagement and utilization of a hospital physiatry consult service. We will conclude by providing essential guidance and tools to physiatrists engaged in acute care consults to enhance their consult service and demonstrate value to hospital leadership.

Learning Objectives:

  • Describe the evidence-based value a physiatrist brings to the acute care hospital setting.
  • Implement quality improvement tools to enhance the utilization of acute care physiatry consults and demonstrate value to hospital leadership.
  • Discuss how hospital physiatry presence broadens opportunities for health system strategic planning, administrative and leadership roles.