Primary Care and Physiatry: Complementary Tools for Full Recovery from Injury

"We're going to think of creative ways to get that 17-year-old athlete or the 70-year-old grandpa back into doing exactly what they want to do."

The focus of the partnership between physical medicine and rehabilitation and primary care is to return the patient to full function. Physiatrist Scott Laker, MD, vice president of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation spoke recently with Patient Care^® about the essential role each specialty plays on a multidisciplinary team as a patient progresses through phases of recovery from injury.

Scott Laker, MD, is vice president of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation in the University of Colorado School of Medicine's department of physical medicine and rehabilitation, and associate dean of clinical affairs at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, in Denver. Laker previously served as a member of the University of Washington Sports and Spine Physicians and was a founding member of the Seattle Sports Concussion Program. He has cared for athletes at all levels of participation from adolescents to adults and from amateurs to professionals.