Expanding Integrated Physiatric Care: A Method to Building Capacity in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Siloed and episodic care delivery is often not equitable, high quality, or sustainable. Transitioning from separate care settings, with potentially divergent care models, to an integrated care model is not always straightforward. Some experiences in expanding collaborative care between physiatrists and other healthcare providers for a variety of patient populations and care settings within a university physical medicine and rehabilitation division are shared as a means to inspire the uptake of care integration initiatives more broadly within the specialty. After an initial survey of care integration across multiple clinical sites, the university division highlighted successful integrated care models, discussed integrated care models at every divisional retreat, reached out to clinicians in other specialties to collaboratively explore expansion, developed a "one-pager" on what physiatrists do, and invited collaborative specialists from integrated clinics to physical medicine and rehabilitation national and/or international meetings. Since 2019, divisional activity in integrated care has grown and evolved substantially. Future work will focus on further expansion of integrated clinical care, scholarly evaluation of integrated care models, expansion of academic activity resulting from integration, and advocacy to healthcare providers, hospital administrators, and health system funders about the potential value of care integration in improving rehabilitation outcomes.