European Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, three years after the White Book.

Abstract

About 3 years ago, between the end of 2006 and January 2007, the White Book on Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine in Europe (WB-PRM-Europe) was published simultaneously and with open access in the Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine (JRM) (1) and Europa Medicophysica (2) (now the European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (EJPRM)). The two journals went to great efforts to publish the book rapidly and at no cost to the authors' organizations. Moreover, they have recently produced, under the supervision of the original editors, a unified version (further checked for editorial inaccuracies and inconsistency) that is now available on the websites of both journals and can be used to prepare further translations of the book. The two journals, JRM and EJPRM, have found that WB-PRM-Europe has been cited frequently and that it has been used for background information and description of our specialty. We hope that this will continue and that the revised version now available on our websites will further support this. All authors of this Special Report strongly suggest, when citing the WB-PRM-Europe, that both sources are included as references (1, 2). The WB-PRM-Europe is a comprehensive document, written to describe the specialty and the competencies of its members across Europe. It also aims to ensure that PRM is seen as a European specialty in which high-quality practitioners working to good standards of care can practise in accordance with the evidence base and within the context of their differing national practices. The book has been produced by means of an impressive collaboration among the main European bodies in the field of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM) (3): the Union Europ?enne des M?decins Sp?cialistes (UEMS) Section of PRM, the UEMS Board of PRM, and the European Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine (EARM), in conjunction with the European Society of PRM (ESPRM). At present, JRM is the official journal of the UEMS Board of PRM, EARM and the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM), and is published in association with ESPRM. EJPRM is the official journal of the Italian Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (SIMFER), the Mediterranean Forum of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (MFPRM), the ESPRM, the Hellenic Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (EEFIAP) and the Turkish Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Specialists (TSPRMS). The WB-PRM-Europe had, and is having, a significant impact both inside and outside Europe (4?6), and the European PRM bodies are progressing in their joint efforts towards the goals described in the book. We summarize here the most important results achieved by each PRM body in these last 3 years, within the context of the concepts and actions published in WB-PRM-Europe.