Diagnóstico de situación de la relación atención primaria-asistencia rehabilitadora en el Sistema Nacional de Salud

Abstract

The relationship between family medicine (FM) and physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) has steadily evolved in the last few decades. Although there are common elements in the publicly-funded health system in Spain, there are differences among the distinct autonomous regions.The main objective of this study was to determine the current status of the relationship between FM and PM&R in the publicly-funded health system. A secondary goal was to assess family doctors’ knowledge of the specialty of PM&R.A questionnaire was used to gather information on variables related to organizational aspects of the relationship between FM and PM&R. The data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical software package. Qualitative variables were described by using frequency distributions of each of the categories and quantitative variables were analyzed using means and standard deviation.Among the family doctors surveyed, 52% had a physiotherapy unit in the workplace; 21% reported there was a specialist in PM&R in the workplace; 49% reported that this support was less than 5 km away; 64.9% did not perform joint sessions with PM&R specialists and 23.3% did so infrequently.Family doctors were largely unaware of PM&R, which has tended to restrict the use of this specialty. Locating rehabilitation centers in the primary care catchment area could improve familiarity with and access to this specialty. Joint activities are a crucial area for improvement.