FUNCTIONAL-CAPACITY EVALUATION, IMPAIRMENT RATING, AND APPLIED CERTIFICATION PROCESSES

Functional capacity evaluation and impairment rating service delivery systems are enjoying a growth unsurpassed by any ancillary service sys tem in the health care industry. Medical, osteopathic, and chiropracti c physicians are establishing partnerships with allied health care pro fessionals who are trained in functional capacity evaluation and impai rment rating protocols. The resulting growth has led to new research i n this specialized health care industry such that reliability and vali dity are being reviewed and credibility is being applied to both evalu ative processes. One outcome from research has been the development of certification by two agencies in functional capacity evaluation and i mpairment rating. This paper reviews the credentialling process and ap plied research which has been conducted in both evaluation environment s and reviews the impairment rating and functional capacity evaluation process in detail. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.