PRM Speaks Series:
Championing National Physiatry & Fortifying International Collaboration
PARM National Capital Region Chapter & PRISM Committee Project
Melecio M. Pena III, MD, FPARM & Paschenelle B. Celis, MD, FPARM
The Honorable Former Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed last September 10, 2020 Presidential Proclamation 1017, which declares every 17th of July as National Physiatry Day, in coordination with the Department of Health.
The 2nd National Physiatry Day, was commemorated within the National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation (NDPR) Week. Championing #COLLABORATING ABILITIES, NPD was celebrated with the program themed, PRM Speaks: Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Practice, Referral, and Management last July 17, 2022. With the assistance of iNova Pharmaceuticals and Med Concepts, a virtual program broadcasted in the entire Philippines via Zoom was conducted. Over 300 participants were in attendance who benefitted from the seminar. Majority are physiatrists who are members of the Philippine Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine (PARM), and coalesced with neurologists, neurosurgeons, internists, rheumatologists, orthopedic surgeons, and other physicians nationwide who also learned and were enlightened on the essential role of physiatrists and the critical factor of physiatry in holistic care towards inclusion and community reintegration. Broadcast was also conducted via television screens and LCD overhead projectors in various hospitals and clinics of the Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM) specialists nationwide in the National Capital Region, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Post-event, the program was also available on Video on Demand. The program earned 2 Continuing Professional Development (units) from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).
The event was hosted by Dr. Paschenelle Celis (PARM NCR Chapter President), Dr. Maria Lourdes Corazon Tapang (PARM NCR Chapter Vice-President), and Dr. Pia Roselynn Mendoza (PARM NCR Chapter Secretary). In the Neurologic Track, the panelists were Dr. Gilmore Senolos (physiatrist from St. Luke’s Medical Center), Dr. Gerard Erikson Gonzales (neurologist from The Medical City Clark), and Dr. Kenny Seng (neurosurgeon from the Philippine General Hospital). In the Musculoskeletal Track, the panelists were Dr. Jeimylo De Castro (physiatrist, and interventional and regenerative medicine specialist from The Medical City South Luzon), Dr. Sandra Tankeh-Torres (rheumatologist from Cardinal Santos Medical Center), and Dr. Jose Fernando Syquia (orthopedist from the University of Santo Tomas Hospital).
The Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine system of Practice, Referral, and Management was focused in the discussion, highlighting the collaboration of Physiatrists with Neurologists, Neurosurgeons, Rheumatologists, and Orthopedists, among other physicians with the ultimate goal to enhance, restore, optimize and prevent loss of functional ability and Quality of Life to those with physical impairments and disabilities, championing collaboration among medical specialists.
The concepts of Rehabilitation Medicine (Latin. Habil, Habitares) known as physiatry, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and physical and rehabilitation medicine were discussed. They encompass a Distinctive Medical Specialty, which consists of Prevention, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Rehabilitation. A physiatrist is a Rehabilitation Medicine specialist whose aim is to enrich optimal function and quality of life and overcome disabilities for people with injuries to the musculoskeletal system including muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, meniscus and capsule; nervous system, which includes the brain, spinal cord, cranial nerves and spinal nerves; and the cardiopulmonary and renal system, including the heart, lungs and kidneys.
The Physiatrist is the team captain, the master tactician, or the chief strategist of the Rehabilitation Medicine team, encompassing other medical specialists, including the Orthopedist, Neurologist, Cardiologist, Pulmonologist, Internist, Pediatrician, Surgeon, Obstetrician, Psychiatrist, ENT/Ophtha/Radio/Patho, Primary Care, among other Physicians; Physical Therapist; Occupational Therapist; Respiratory Therapist; Speech & Language Pathologist; Strengthening and Conditioning Coach; Orthotist and Prosthetist; Psychologist; Nurse; Nutritionist Dietitian; and Social Worker, among others.
Dr. Gilmore Senolos illuminated the similarities and differences between the practice of neurorehabilitation in the Philippines and Singapore. They are similar to each other, as referral to PRM is performed as early as Day 1 post-ictus. As soon as the patient is medically and neurologically stable, neurorehabilitation is started and progressed. The difference is that Singapore focuses on in-patient rehabilitation for 7 to 10 days for stroke, and 21 days for spinal cord injury with 3 hours of rehabilitation per day, with the physiatrist as the team leader. In contrast for the Philippines, patients tend to be discharged early and the rehabilitation programs are not maximized. As Dr. Gerard Erikson Gonzales elucidated, the practice of PRM is truly evolving with the times, while Dr. Kenny Seng remarked that he is learning a lot from the discussion in the neurologic track.
On the other hand, in the Musculoskeletal Track, Dr. Jeimylo De Castro championed the emerging trend of musculoskeletal ultrasound diagnostic, therapeutic, and regenerative interventions which revolutionized the landscape of the armamentarium of physiatric assessment and management. As Dr. Sandra Tankeh-Torres noted that there is an increasing trend of referrals of the 200 rheumatologists to physiatrists, she professes that having a close partnership with physiatrists will benefit both specialties and ultimately our patients. Then, Dr. Jose Fernando Syquia concurred, a close collaboration between 800 Fellows who are orthopedic surgeons and physiatrists is essential to rehabilitation care. Altogether, the collaboration of physiatrists with Neurologists, Neurosurgeons, Rheumatologists, and Orthopedists, among other physicians with the ultimate goal to enhance, restore, optimize and prevent loss of functional ability and Quality of Life to those with physical impairments and disabilities, is the holy grail of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, as we #COLLABORATEABILITIES with this comprehensive, critical, and quintessential system of Practice, Referral, and Management between and among medical specialties in the care of patients necessitating a holistic care, for the supreme goal of Quality of Life.
The project created a significant impact and enhanced the information dissemination of what Physiatry and the Philippine Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine encompasses. As the mantra reverberates, “We do not just add years to life, we add Quality of Life to those years”.
The 3rd National Physiatry Day, within the NDPR week was commemorated with the program themed, PRM Speaks REHABILITATION 2030: Force for Good in Strengthening International Collaboration last July 17, 2023. Again, with the assistance of iNova Pharmaceuticals and MedConcepts, a virtual program broadcasted in the international arena through a World Premiere via Zoom was conducted. Over 300 attendees were physiatrists who are members of the Philippine Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine (PARM), Asia-Oceanian Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (AOSPRM), International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM), and Philippine American Physiatrists Association (PAPA), and physicians from the World Health Organization (WHO) benefitted and learned from the program in leaps and bounds. After #COLLABORATING ABILITIES with other medical specialists in PRM Speaks: Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Practice, Referral, and Management last July 17, 2022, this advocacy is a global program #FORTIFYING ABILITIES of local and international physiatrists all over the world, the universe rather in response to the WHO GLOBAL CALL FOR ACTION: REHABILITATION 2030 for Community Participation, Inclusion, and Reintegration.
To commemorate the 3rd National Physiatry Day (NPD) within the NDPR Week (July 17 to 23, 2023), this program is parallel in advocating the succeeding global objectives:
- Create awareness of the availability of the Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine services at the community level, for all ages and life stages, and all populations.
- Strengthen rehabilitation medicine, also known as physiatry directed towards supporting the health system as a whole, and integrating rehabilitation into all levels of health care.
- Champion rehabilitation medicine as an essential and key health service crucial for achieving universal health coverage.
The event was hosted by Dr. Paschenelle Celis (PARM NCR Chapter President), Dr. Maria Lourdes Corazon Tapang (PARM NCR Chapter Vice-President), and Dr. Alex Zander Bondoc (PARM NCR Chapter Treasurer), and supported by Dr. Reynaldo Rey-Matias, Dr. Beatrice Milrose Rey-Matias, and Dr. Pia Roselynn Mendoza. This is a groundbreaking and breakthrough program, with the Philippines being the first and only country in the world, and the Philippine Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine (PARM) being the only specialty organization of physiatrists around the globe with a government-promulgated National Physiatry Day. The distinguished speakers, aside from Dr. Fary Khan (ISPRM Vice-President from Australia), were Dr. Francesca Gimigliano (ISPRM President from Italy) who lectured on the “The Rehabilitation Medicine Role in the Good Health and Well-being: Sustainable Goals of the World Health Organization”; and Dr. Reynaldo Rey-Matias (AOSPRM President from the Philippines and ISPRM Representative to the WHO in the Western Pacific Region) who discussed the “Collaboration with the WHO Regional Office in the Western Pacific Region”.
In attendance were key physiatrists around the world, including Dr. Marta Imamura (Past ISPRM President from Brazil), and WHO representative, Dr. Carol Kiegens. Across all continents circumnavigating the globe, in this one moment in time, PARM, led by the PARM NCR Chapter and the PRISM Committee has successfully united and assembled physiatrists as one family, one community in its ultimate mission of championing our advocacy for the common good and well-being as a sustainable goal of the community towards inclusion and reintegration. Truly, a force for good in strengthening international collaboration. One person can make a difference, but collaboration can multiply its significance. Imagine the infinite possibilities if we fortify our abilities. The entire PRM Speaks Series programs and videos were shared with the Philippine Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine (PARM), and the Philippine Medical Association (PMA), augmented by a collaboration with the Department of Health (DOH) as an information and advocacy campaign championing the physiatrists in the entire archipelago of the Philippines. Creating another significant impact in public relations, image, and social media of PARM, this program champions community outreach to the grassroots level while professing our advocacy.
#We are PARM (Philippine Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine). #We are PaRM (Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine).
