Trends in PM&R

Physiatrists and physiatry employers often ask me about the current trends in PM&R.   What follows is some information about the trends in physiatry fellowships and specialization, the evolution of the physical medicine and rehabilitation setting, and compensation and employment preferences.

Fellowship and Specialization Trends

Spine fellowships remain popular among physiatry residents, with physical medicine and rehabilitation employers increasingly seeking physiatrists skilled in radiofrequency ablation, spinal cord stimulators, and regenerative therapies. Meanwhile, fewer anesthesiologists are pursuing pain fellowships, drawn instead to better opportunities in general anesthesia.

Sports medicine continues its rapid expansion as one of the fastest-growing medical specialties in the U.S., according to HealthGrades. Neurorehabilitation fellowships in PM&R  are now available. Positions are specifically seeking physiatrists experienced in concussion management and long COVID treatment.

Interest in non-interventional fellowships is resurging, particularly in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal cord injury (SCI). Additionally, newer fellowship programs in areas such as cancer rehabilitation are gaining traction in the physical medicine and rehabilitation field.

Practice Setting Evolution

The PM&R healthcare landscape is shifting toward subacute and skilled nursing facilities as inpatient stays become shorter. Telemedicine has emerged as a viable option for the physical medicine practice.  Younger physiatrists increasingly seek to integrate lifestyle medicine into their work.

Compensation and Employment Preferences

Salary expectations have evolved significantly. Most physiatrists now want guaranteed salaries, and even independent contractors are seeking income guarantees. Simultaneously, PM&R employers are placing greater emphasis on productivity metrics.

If you are seeking a physiatry practice opportunity or wanting to add a PM&R doctor, please contact us.

Interventional Physiatry – Then and Now

Interventional physiatry is a subspecialty within physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) that many physiatrists pursue. It began gaining traction in the 1990s and has since grown significantly, encompassing procedures performed under fluoroscopic and ultrasound guidance. Historically, it has been one of the most financially rewarding areas within PM&R. However, in recent years, some physiatrists have noted a decline in the number of procedures covered by insurance, along with reduced reimbursement rates. The field has also expanded to include regenerative therapies, which are typically not reimbursed by insurance providers.  View our latest interventional and more job postings here

Top Ten Practice Search Tips in 10 Minutes!

On April 12, 2025, I had the privilege of presenting to the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation as part of their Virtual Course for Residents and New Graduates. I was invited to give a ten-minute talk on the practice search process. Given the limited time, I focused on the Top 10 PM&R Practice Search Tips. The talk covered key topics including the current physiatry job market, compensation trends, steps in the practice search, working with recruiters, interview strategies, and contract negotiation. I hope you find these insights helpful.

Here’s the link: Virtual Course for Residents & New Graduates

Business Considerations When Recruiting A Physiatrist

On May 19, 2025, I gave a presentation to the New York Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation on Business Considerations When Recruiting a Physiatrist. The presentation covered key aspects of the decision-making process involved in hiring a new physiatrist, important qualities to look for in a candidate, and an overview of various compensation models.  I hope this is helpful to entities thinking about adding a new physiatrist.

How to Recruit Physiatrists in 2025

In 2025, recruiting physiatrists remains a significant challenge due to the growing physician shortage and an aging population. Demand for specialists continues to rise, and the shortage is worsening, according to Carey Goryl, CEO of the Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR). Each year, the time required to fill open positions has increased.

At Farr Healthcare, Inc., we address these challenges through a comprehensive recruitment approach:

Strong Presence in the Physiatry Community
Farr Healthcare has built and maintains a strong presence in the physical medicine and rehabilitation community. Our ongoing networking efforts ensure that PM&R doctors turn to us when considering new opportunities. Consistent engagement with the field is critical to our success.

Extensive Database and Outreach
We maintain a robust database of physiatrists, complete with current, detailed contact information, allowing us to identify candidates quickly. We also engage physical medicine and rehabilitation residents and spine, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, etc. fellows annually and utilize modern communication tools, including email, social media, and texting.

Strategic Partnerships with Employers
Beyond recruitment methods, the characteristics of the practice opportunity significantly impact recruitment success. We collaborate closely with employers to present clear, comprehensive, and appealing descriptions of available positions, ensuring they resonate with PM&R candidates.

Focus on Work-Life Balance
Today’s physiatrists prioritize work-life balance. Opportunities offering flexible schedules, part-time options, supportive environments, and creative scheduling solutions — like week-on/week-off arrangements — are highly attractive. We highlight these features prominently in our recruitment materials.

Competitive Compensation
Attractive compensation packages are crucial. We encourage employers to adopt proactive strategies, including competitive salaries, loan guarantees, student loan repayment programs, and sign-on bonuses. Farr Healthcare stays up-to-date on compensation trends to help employers offer packages that meet the expectations of both new graduates and experienced physicians.

Cultural Alignment and Fit
We focus on ensuring that candidates align with the employer’s values and culture. With 30 years of experience, we excel at uncovering an employer’s core values through detailed initial interviews. On the candidate side, we conduct thorough interviews, including behavioral assessments, to ensure skills and cultural fit. Our tailored postings and campaigns are designed to attract the right candidates.

View our latest job postings here

Physiciatrist!

Checking the spelling, format and content of your curriculum vitae is critical!  The spelling of physiatrist as physiciatrist is obviously wrong but may not be caught by Spell Check.  A cv is often the first impression a potential employer has of you.  A misspelled word on a resume can reflect carelessness and negatively impact your chances of getting hired.  Reading your cv aloud can help you catch awkward phrasing or typos that you might otherwise miss. Consider having someone else review it. Typos can lead to miscommunication of your skills and qualifications, causing employers to misunderstand your experience. Studies have shown that cv’s with spelling errors can have lower interview probabilities and hiring probabilities.  If a typo is pointed out during an interview, acknowledge it and explain that you’ve made a mistake and are committed to being more careful in the future.  If you notice a typo after submitting your cv, you can consider sending a revised version with a brief note explaining the error. Feel free to contact us anytime to review your cv.

Exciting News . . The new Farr Healthcare, Inc. Website

Great news!  The website for Farr Healthcare, Inc. is now new and improved.  Our website includes a comprehensive list of practice opportunities as Farr Healthcare, Inc. works with most national rehab systems, private practices and some academic programs.  The website has information to help you through the practice search process as either a physiatrist looking for work or if you want to add a physiatrist.  Of course, we’re always available to talk directly to help you through the process.

There are now several ways to identify practice opportunities from the home page to include clicking on the top tab that says Openings.  You can now select interventional versus general PM&R jobs as well.  Other ways to find jobs on the Home Page are by clicking on a list of states OR using a map OR a list of all jobs (on the far left in the Current Openings section) OR clicking on the tab on the bottom left hand side.

There’s also a section mid-page that highlights the most recent job addition.

You can now contact Farr Healthcare several ways if you’re looking for a job, the most obvious is a button on the far right-hand side of the screen.

Employers can contact Farr Healthcare from the Home Page or by clicking on the top button labelled Employer Services.

As always, you can subscribe to receive releases about new openings by entering your email towards the bottom of the home page.  As a benefit, you will automatically receive a Physiatry Contract Negotiation checklist.

A tab for Resources for billing, practice management, contract review, coaching, EMR’s, licensing and immigration lawyers may be found on the home page in the lower left-hand corner.

Blogs are released on an ongoing basis and can be found by clicking on the Physiatry News button on the top of the Home Page.

On the bottom right-hand side of the pages are links to information about physician recruitment services, interview and job searching, practice management, contract negotiation and compensation.

I look forward to hearing from you via the new website!

MIPS in a Minute – Hospital-based Physiatrists

The Medicare MIPS Program is unnecessarily complex and unwieldy for hospital-based physiatrists, who often have minimal support staff. Failure to report MIPS in 2024 can result in a 10% Medicare PENALTY in 2026. However, successfully reporting MIPS in 2024 can result in a 10% BONUS in 2026! The 10% penalty or bonus has a tremendous impact on hospital-based physiatry practices, because 60% to 70% of patients have Medicare as their primary insurance. There are many resources available – from the CMS MIPS Help Desk to private registry companies. However, in my experience, they lack understanding of hospital-based practices, and are focused primarily on outpatient practices. This article will outline the steps I recommend for hospital-based physiatrists to achieve success in meeting the requirements of Medicare’s MIPS program, and thereby earn a lucrative bonus.

article about medicare billing for physiatrists with picture of medicare card

Reporting for Past Years

First, establish a chronology of how your practice has dealt with MIPS reporting in past years.

– Based on reporting for 2022, are you receiving a Medicare penalty or bonus in 2024? Ask your billing personnel for a current Medicare Remittance Advice, and you will know instantly.

– Based on reporting for 2023, will you receive a penalty or bonus in 2025? You should check a Remittance Advice for the upcoming 2025 year.

Current Year Reporting (2024)

Reporting MIPS in 2024, which will result in a penalty or bonus in 2026, involves the following 4 categories:

  1. Quality (30%) – This category is the most important, and the one you can easily control. I recommend reporting a Specialty set via a Registry.
  2. Improvement Activities (15%) – There is a comprehensive list of available Improvement Activities to report. Since you are probably already performing these activities, all you need to do is select 2 of them.
  3. Promoting Interoperability – aka EHR- (25%) – You are probably classified as a “small practice” by Medicare, which means that you do not need to report this category and the 25% will be redistributed to the other 3 categories.
  4. Cost (30%) – Cost is calculated by Medicare so there is nothing for you to report.

The summary above is a general outline and provides an overview of the MIPS program. With some effort, hospital-based physiatrists can not only meet the requirements of the MIPS program, but also earn a lucrative bonus!

This article was contributed by Mr. Bruno Stillo, Physiatry Billing Specialists, 800-835-4482, http://physiatrymedicalbilling.com/
They specialize in Inpatient Physiatry Medical Billing for 20 years. All of their clients are on staff at acute care rehabilitation facilities. If you are starting a new practice, they can set up everything for you. If you have an existing practice, and want to improve your billing system, they can clean up your old receivables, and ensure that new billings are done professionally.

The Top 10 Skills To Highlight On Your PM&R Curriculum Vitae

The goal of your physiatry curriculum vitae is to make you stand out as the best candidate for a practice opportunity!  How do you do this?  The best way is to know what the employer wants and tailor-make your cv to address your professional characteristics that match them.  Sometimes the physiatry job description tells you what the employer is looking for in the new candidate.  Farr Healthcare tries to provide as much information posssible about physiatry jobs.  Information about practice opportunities with Farr Healthcare, Inc. can be found here.

Finding out what an employer wants isn’t always possible before you present your cv but you can still make your cv shine compared to other cv’s.  It’s most efficient if you track your accomplishments along your career path but most people usually don’t keep their cv up-to-date.  So, try to make a mental note to update your cv at the time of each accomplishment.   Here are ten key skills that will make your cv the best possible:

Leadership:   This goes without saying.  Any position that you have that involves physical medicine and rehabilitation leadership should be so noted.  And, it need not only be professional as it can be a leadership position in your personal life.  Examples:  Chief Resident, Medical Director, Chair of the Clinic Work on a Mission Trip to Kenya, M.B.A., Director of Brain Injury Medicine

Clinical Expertise: If you have been in a position where you started a new program, be it at a new rehab hospital or a new pain management program at an acute care hospital, make sure to note this in a bullet underneath the job listing.  If you have been instrumental in a successful CARF-certification, this should be included on your cv as an example of your clinical expertise.  If you are accredited by a well-recognized organization this too should be on your cv.  Examples:  Served as Medical Director for a brand new freestanding independent acute rehabilitation hospital, Best Rehab Hospital in the Region (based on a corporation’s statistics), Voted Best Resident, Highest SAE Score Award

Interdisciplinary Collaboration: The ability to work well with others is always a highly-rated skill.  Your cv should list any PM&R committee work.  Examples:  Served on the Quality Oversight Committee, Medical Executive Committee President

Patient-Centered Care:   Sometimes physiatry employers search the web for a doctor’s patient reviews or patient review scores.  If your reviews or scores stand out, save them the time and include this information on your cv.  Examples:  Rated 5/5 by U.S. New and World Report Patient Satisfaction, Castle Connolly Top Doctor, Top Women in Medicine

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Techniques: If you have some unique PM&R skills, include them on your cv.  If you’re an interventionalist, it’s helpful to list the procedures you ro on your cv.  Examples:  Proficient in spinal cord stimulator trials, vertebroplasty, percutaneous discectomy, intrathecal baclofen pump management

Diagnostic Skills: Emphasize your physical medicine proficiency in using diagnostic tools and methods, including  electromyography (EMG), and other diagnostic procedures relevant to physiatry.

Pain Management: Illustrate your expertise in managing chronic pain through both pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods, including injections, physical therapy, and alternative therapies.  Example:  Member of Scientific Advisory Board, Member  of Spine Society(s)

Research and Evidence-Based Practice: Highlight any involvement in research activities, clinical trials, or contributions to evidence-based practice that demonstrate your commitment to advancing the field of physiatry.

Communication Skills: If you speak an international language such as Spanish, make sure to include this on your cv.  Presentations that you have done should also be on your cv.  Examples:  Outstanding Oral Presentation, NYU Scholarly Day; Introduction to Spinal Cord Injury Residency Lecture Series, Miami

Continued Education and Certification: Mention any additional PM&R certifications, fellowships, or continuing education that contribute to your ongoing professional development and expertise in physiatry.  Example Board Certified in Worker’s Compensation in NY State, Fluoro-licensed in CA, Medical Education Research Certificate

One of the doctors who had success finding a great practice opportunity with Farr Healthcare, Inc.’s advice says:

“It is with great pleasure that I offer Linda Farr my recommendation for her excellent work in physician recruiting and placement.  Ms. Farr is extremely capable and knowledgeable in her chosen field of work.  She is unfailingly courteous, cheerful, prompt and helpful.” S. Parameshwaran, M.D.

For more details on how to make a great cv, watch Linda Farr’s video “What’s Wrong With These Curriculum Vitae? – A Primer On How To Prepare Your Curriculum Vitae.

Tailoring these skills to your personal experiences and achievements can help you create the most compelling and effective CV!  Contact us today to start your practice search journey with Farr Healthcare, Inc.