[Medical rehabilitation from the viewpoint of the established physician]

In view of the not inconsiderable numbers of pension insured who have undergone no medical rehabilitation prior to their being pensioned prematurely, the principle of "rehabilitation comes before pensioning" hence not being implemented for this population, it is deemed justified to inquire into the causes of this situation. In the framework of the present study of 902 questionnaires returned by office practice physicians, it is presumed that the office practice physician is the controlling agent in inducing appropriate patients at the right time to participate in a rehabilitation measure. The following indicators are presumed to decisively influence this steering function: Attitude towards medical rehabilitation; Disease/disability-specific experience with medical rehabilitation measures; Satisfaction with the rehabilitation clinic selected by the pension insurance administration; Awareness of the rehabilitation clinics' range of rehabilitative services and the various treatment modalities available; Awareness of pertinent legal provisions; Cooperation between office-practice physician and pension insurance administration.