Page 8 - Delaware Medical Journal - November/December 2019
P. 8
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Iwould like to point out that physical medicine doctors are not ortho physical medicine, as was published in the most
recent Delaware Medical Journal, and that they are in fact physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists.
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) physicians, also known as physiatrists, treat a wide variety of medical conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, nerves, bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, and tendons (adults and children).
They are a distinct specialty under the American Board of Medical Specialties of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
PM&R physicians are medical doctors who have completed training in the specialty of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R), and may be Medicine, Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Neuromuscular Medicine,
Editor’s Note and Correction
Pain Medicine, Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine, Spinal Cord Injury Medicine, and/or Sports Medicine.
• Treat patients of all ages
• Focus treatment on function
• Have a broad medical expertise
that allows them to treat disabling conditions throughout a person’s lifetime
• Diagnose and treat pain as a result of an injury, illness, or disabling condition
• Determine and lead a treatment/ prevention plan
• Lead a team of medical professionals, which may include physical therapists, occupational therapists, and physician extenders to optimize patient care
• Work with other physicians,
which may include primary care physicians, neurologists, orthopedic surgeons, and many others.
• Treat the whole person, not just the problem area
Depending on the injury, illness, or disabling condition, some PM&R physicians may treat their patients using the following procedures/ services:
• EMG/Nerve conduction studies • Ultrasound guided procedures • Fluoroscopy guided procedures • Injections of spine
• Discography, disc decompression and vertebroplasy/kyphoplasty
• Nerve stimulators, blocks, and
ablation procedures — peripheral
and spinal
• Injections of joints
• Prolotherapy
• Spasticity treatment (Phenol
and Botulinum toxin injections, intrathecal baclofen pump trial and implants)
• Nerve and muscle biopsy
• Manual medicine/osteopathic
treatment
• Prosthetics and orthotics
• Complementary-alternative medicine
(i.e. acupuncture, etc.)
MSD Member Explains ‘Top Doc’
Specialty Error
Michael A. Alexander, MD, FAAPMR
The categories and names printed in the September/October 2019 Delaware Medical Journal listing of “Top Docs” were collected from information published by Today Media in the Delaware Today 2019 “Top Doc” issue. The DMJ did not have any input in choosing categories or listing physicians.
However, Damian M. Andrisani, MD’s specialty was incorrectly listed as “Adult Ortho, Sports Med Surgical.” He should have been listed as “Ortho, Sports Med Surgical” and the DMJ takes responsibility for this error.
248 Del Med J | November/December 2019 | Vol. 91 | No. 6
