By Dr. Daniel Costa (Chair) and Dr. Jack Richman (Co-Chair)
We are pleased to invite you to The First International
Conference on Symptom, Diagnosis and Disability Validity: Improving Patient Outcomes. The
Physical Medicine Research Foundation, the American College of Occupational and
Environmental Medicine, and many health care providers belonging to various specialties
have cooperated enthusiastically to put together this conference.
The last fifty years have brought us spectacular advances
in health care. Due to the development and availability of new technologies leading to
improved diagnostic and treatment procedures, the importance of, and emphasis on,
precision in all types of health care has increased to levels difficult to imagine fifty
years ago. In this context, the various types of health care providers have found
themselves cooperating in ways not seen in the first half of the previous century.
As evidence-based medicine is holding health care
practitioners to account, not only in clinical practice but also in the courts, an
expanding number of health care providers realize that there are very large areas of
practice in which symptom, diagnostic and disability validity remain underdeveloped and in
great need of further research. At a time when the representatives of the insured, such as
lawyers, and payers including Worker’s Compensation Boards, Insurers, and Employers need
more than ever guidance in their deliberations as to what and how certain types of
conditions and treatments should be funded to improve patient outcomes, this research is
evidently crucial to those discussions. Many health care providers have also discovered
that the most substantial progress in this field can be achieved only through
multidisciplinary effort, having one specialty sharing with and gaining knowledge from the
others in an environment stimulating cross-fertilization.
This conference will launch a new international society
with the ambitious goal of initiating a periodic forum of interdisciplinary exchange and
an international journal, all dedicated to symptom, diagnostic and disability validity in
the work of all regulated health care professions. We thank all professional organizations
that have joined us as co-sponsors/partners/supporters and welcome participation of other
regulated disciplines.
We extend to you a warm invitation to participate in this
unique conference! Your contribution to the proceedings will be very important. Please
note that this initiative has started as a grassroots movement and the contribution of any
health care professional, anywhere in the world, is needed and most welcome. We would be
delighted to have you in cosmopolitan, multicultural Toronto for this remarkable
conference, at a time when the city and its surroundings are adorned in the famous
Canadian fall colours!
For registration and accreditation information contact:
Physical Medicine Research Foundation Suite 204, 856 Homer Street Vancouver, BC V6B 2W5 In
North America Toll Free (800) 872-3105, International +604 684-4148 PMRF and Symposium
Website: www.icpro.org Fax (604)
684-6247 E-mail: [email protected]
Extensive details for this Symposia can be found at the PMRF Web site at
www.icpro.org under Upcoming Symposia.
Call for Papers
Cash Prizes for Best Posters and Papers We are pleased to
announce Physical Medicine Research Foundations’ Best Paper/Poster Program. Up to $1,000
(Canadian Funds) will be paid to the principal author of selected papers/poster(s)
demonstrating innovation and excellence in research activities. Your poster should address
one of the themes of the conference (see below). Complete abstracts must be received by
June 30, 2002. Abstracts for late breaking posters must be received by July 15, 2002 and
are not eligible for the cash prize program.
Student/New Investigator, Best Paper/Poster Award Program
Up to $500 (Canadian Funds) will be awarded to selected students/new investigators for
best paper or poster. New investigator refers to graduate students engaged in research
projects or new investigators within one year of graduation. The winners will be selected
by a blind review process. Competition is limited to those authors who have submitted
their abstract(s) and registration fee(s) by June 30, 2002. Deadline for submission is June 30, 2002.
Abstract Themes
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Medical, Ethical and Legal Aspects of Symptom, Diagnostic and Disability Validity
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Diagnostic Validity
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Validity of Disability
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Symptom Validity
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Physician Patient Communication
Information
about the Papers/Posters competition.
