LAUSR

In recent decades, medicine has undergone incredible development, the boundaries of the specializations have changed, they have become more differentiated, and new specialities have emerged. The evolution of rehabilitation medicine and the development of its current competencies correspond to this process. An independent new interdisciplinary clinical specialty was born in Hungary. The purpose of this publication is to present the development and results of rehabilitation medicine in Hungary over the past twenty years. A descriptive presentation of the results was made using Hungarian publications and data of rehabilitation medicine, without a systematic analysis. In the past 20 years, significant changes have taken place in the field of rehabilitation. A national network was established in inpatient care, and specialized departments for special tasks were organized. In 1998, only nearly 2,941 beds were used for rehabilitation, currently there are more than 6,500 rehabilitation beds in the country. The number of treated cases was 11,384 (1987), which rose to 95,693 in 2019. Since the beginning, 552 doctors have obtained rehabilitation qualifications, but the work of other team members (nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, speech therapists, social workers) is also indispensable for carrying out rehabilitation activities. Rehabilitation departments and chairs have been established at the four medical faculties, and graduate and postgraduate training is coordinated. The national institute remained the center of research and education. The development of the field of rehabilitation and the results of research were also presented at international conferences organized in Hungary. Orv Hetil. 2023; 164(19): 722-728.