Mark Huang, MD, FAAPMR
Chief Medical Information Officer
James Sliwa, DO, FAAPMR
Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President
AAPM&R’s Registry recently announced its first six sites for the Ischemic Stroke and Low Back Pain data collection programs—among them, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago, IL. We recently spoke with Drs. Huang and Sliwa who helped champion
the Registry to find out what informed their institution’s decision, why the Registry is important to physiatry, and how other others can get involved.
As members of the AAPM&R Registry Steering Committee, both helped lead the strategic planning and development of the Registry, and are now its early adopters. It was a natural “next step” as they understand the value of data, how it can
be used to improve patient care and outcomes and, ultimately, demonstrate the value of the specialty as a whole. Both also see the Registry as a BOLD example of AAPM&R’s mission—leading the advancement of physiatry’s impact throughout
health care—and encourage other members to become part of this future-focused initiative and a way to advance the specialty and Academy vision including ensuring that physiatrists are vital in optimizing outcomes and function early and throughout
the continuum of patient care.
To Join or Not to Join the Registry? There Wasn’t a Question
The question to join the Registry and participate as one of the early adopters was an easy, but well informed, decision for the physician leaders at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. “Prior to the development of the Registry, there was very little national,
aggregate data and research in the specialty of PM&R. It was a subjective specialty, but that’s changing,” said Dr. Sliwa. “We need to not only establish outcome measures, but we need to be able to gather that data, analyze it,
and then use that information to improve the specialty in the future.”
This sentiment is echoed by Dr. Huang, who believes the Academy is the right organization to lead this effort. “You can’t escape the fact that we need quality measures focused on rehabilitation services. The current measures out there are
very weak and they don’t focus on rehabilitation specifically,” he said. “We (physiatrists) need to develop those measures because, clearly, no one else is going to do it. As a specialty, we’re going to have to help facilitate
the coordination of this development with specifications that accurately measure, track and report physiatric care.”
Data collection and quality improvement are top-of-mind at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. According to Dr. Sliwa, “It ties in directly with our organization’s approach: to integrate clinical care with research, to gather and analyze data, and to
make a significant impact on outcomes. And so, the Registry is a component of that model. Rehabilitation should not be just a process; Rehabilitation should be about improving outcomes.”
Dr. Huang takes it a step further and talks about sharing and comparing the data available through the Registry. “Yes, you can collect and keep the data internally, but using the Registry allows for comparison among other organizations and providers—information-sharing
and learning. The Registry allows for that data to be handed down and lets you see how you are doing without operating in a vacuum.”
Working Cross-Functionally to Secure Buy-In
Clearly, Drs. Huang and Sliwa were advocates for Shirley Ryan AbilityLab to be a Registry participant, but they couldn’t make that decision alone. They needed to secure buy-in from the organization’s executive team and other departments because
an initiative of this scale is a cross-functional endeavor requiring all departments to come together in order for it to be successful.
“We had buy-in and already knew its value. However, we still needed to take it to our Chief Operating Officer and IT because it’s an investment in time and resources,” said Dr. Sliwa. “We presented it in a future-oriented manner—as
a tool that will help us to provide data and demonstrate the value we contribute across the specialty to impact care in this country.”
He continued, “When you have that future-focused vision, the drive to improve yourself, your institution and your specialty as whole, then it becomes easier to get IT and other departments to support that vision. That’s leadership!”
Dr. Huang reinforces this point. “It has to come from top-down. You have to get that leadership buy-in first. Otherwise, it’s going to fail. Each person who is trying to advocate for the Registry has to do a deep-dive, look at their organizational
mission and vision statements, and see how they can tie-in the value of the Registry to those. Because once you can do that, you’re going to get leadership buy-in and, then, ultimately align with other departments like IT to prioritize it.”