Need To Implement Physical And Rehabilitative Medicine At Universities - A Position Paper Of The German Society For Physical And Rehabilitative Medicine (Dgprm)

According to data from World Health Organization (WHO), the number of people with needs for rehabilitation is continuously increasing worldwide. Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM) is nationally and internationally an independent medical specialty and scientific research field. At Present, in Germany only three medical faculties have academic chairs for Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM). The need for integrating PMR at university level is supported by a number of arguments:PRM is recognised as an independent medical specialty and since 1996 interated into the (model) training regulations of the German Medical Association as a specialist group.The PRM is a defined research field and scientific area. It comprises the areas of biological and genetic basic research, biomedical and technological rehabilitation research, clinical rehabilitation research, integrative rehabilitation research and the sciences of the functioning of the personThe PRM is a defined part of the curriculum for medical studies and is firmly anchored in the licensing regulations for doctors with the cross-sectional area "Rehabilitation Medicine, Physical Medicine, Naturopathic Treatment".This dimension rates that acedemic chairs of PRM have a broad spectrum of tasks, teaching and patient care as shown above, the PRM meets all the criteria for an academic field, the tasks of which at universities are outlined. This is also important for the further development of the health and social system. Based on these facts, the German Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (DGPRM) demands that chairs or other independent professorships for Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine be established at every medical faculty.