• Haim Ring, Malka Itzkovich, and Aida Dynia.
• Departments of Neurological Rehabilitation C, Loewenstein Hospital-Rehabilitation Center, Raanana, Israel. haimr@clalit.org.il
• Isr Med Assoc J. 2007 Feb 1; 9 (2): 102106102-6.

BackgroundMeasurement of function is an essential component of routine rehabilitation work (mainly for quantifying function at different phases in the rehabilitation process), rehabilitation policy (admission and discharge criteria, length of stay in rehabilitation), goal setting, and outcome measurement.ObjectiveTo explore the scope of the scales used for function assessment by the various disciplines of rehabilitation medicine in rehabilitation facilities.MethodA structured questionnaire was sent to 36 rehabilitation facilities. Respondents were asked to specify the scales they use for functional assessment for each of 15 selected pathologies. Also examined were satisfaction with the scales, as well as the existence of a computerized database of routine function assessment in the facility and the willingness to create a national agreed "common data set" of the assessments.ResultsThe general response rate was 86.1% (31 of 36 questionnaires were returned). For the sake of data presentation, rehabilitation facilities were classified into four categories: general, geriatric, pediatric, and community. Most facilities performed function assessment using a total of 125 scales. Heterogeneity was found between facilities and between pathologies. The highest number of scales was found in the area of neurologic pathologies. For most pathologies, assessment of impairment was used more than assessment of disability. Most facilities in the survey did not have a computerized database of function assessments.ConclusionsA common data set of function assessments in everyday clinical work would ensure standardization without necessarily limiting the use of additional scales and at the same time significantly minimize the current heterogeneity.

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