Rehabilitation Medicine

The Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Peking University Third Hospital is a nationally renowned unit that integrates medical care, teaching, and research, with orthopedics and sports injury rehabilitation as its specialties and comprehensive development in neurologic and critical care rehabilitation. Our department provides rehabilitation treatment through an integrated clinical-rehabilitation work model. Building on its strengths in orthopedics and sports injury rehabilitation, it has gradually developed into a comprehensive, multidisciplinary rehabilitation system encompassing bone and joint rehabilitation, sports injury rehabilitation, neurologic rehabilitation, critical care rehabilitation, spinal and spinal cord rehabilitation, cardiac rehabilitation, respiratory rehabilitation, critical care rehabilitation, pediatric rehabilitation, geriatric rehabilitation, obstetric rehabilitation, and oncologic rehabilitation. The Department of Rehabilitation Medicine has an annual outpatient volume of over 40,000 person-visits, and its early intervention rate for neurologic rehabilitation ranks first among hospitals directly affiliated with and administered by the national and municipal health commissions. Seizing opportunities and meeting historical challenges, the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Peking University Third Hospital has become the lead institution for the National Quality Control Center for Rehabilitation Medicine, the Beijing Quality Control and Improvement Center for Rehabilitation Medicine, a National Key Clinical Specialty (2013, 2022), a National Key Base for Standardized Training of Resident Physicians, a Specialized Base for Rehabilitation Nursing of the Chinese Nursing Association, a PhD degree-granting site at Peking University for Rehabilitation Medicine and Physical Therapy and for Rehabilitation Therapy, the home institution of the Director of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Peking University, the home institution of the President of the Rehabilitation Physician Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, the home institution of the President-Elect of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, and the home institution of the Chairman of the China Hospital Rehabilitation Medicine Consortium.

The department currently has 50 beds and 89 staff members, including 4 chief physicians, 5 deputy chief physicians, 6 attending physicians, and 5 resident physicians; 9 supervising therapists and 35 therapists; and 6 supervising nurses and 14 nurses and nursing staff. Among them, Cui Guoqing serves as the Director of the Beijing Quality Control and Improvement Center for Rehabilitation Medicine, the First Director of the Rehabilitation Medical Consortium of the Chinese Hospital Association, the Group Leader of the Chinese Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Collaboration Group, the Founding Chair of the Shoulder and Elbow Branch of the Beijing Medical Association, the Vice Chair of the Bone and Joint Professional Committee of the Beijing Rehabilitation Association, the Vice Chair of the Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Branch of the Beijing Sports Science Society, a Standing Committee Member of the Sports Medicine Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, and the Chair of the Shoulder and Elbow Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Branch of the China Medical Education Association. Zhou Mouwang serves as the Director of the National Quality Control Center for Rehabilitation Medicine, the President of the Rehabilitation Physician Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, and the President-Elect of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Branch of the Chinese Medical Association. Yang Yanyan serves as the Deputy Secretary-General of the Rehabilitation Physician Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association. Liu Nan serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia in Canada. Liu Xiaoxuan serves as a Member of the Peripheral Neuropathy Branch of the Chinese Medical Association. Dai Hongle serves as a Standing Committee Member of the Rehabilitation Nursing Professional Committee of the Chinese Rehabilitation Medical Association. Wu Tongxuan serves as a Standing Committee Member of the Occupational Therapy Professional Committee of the Chinese Rehabilitation Medical Association.

As the lead institution of the National Quality Control Center for Rehabilitation Medicine, the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Peking University Third Hospital is fully responsible for the standardized development of national rehabilitation medical quality and has built a quality control network covering the whole country. The number of sentinel hospitals has expanded from 162 to 562, covering 31 provincial-level administrative regions and promoting comprehensive coverage of quality control work. The center has formulated standards such as the “National Quality Control Indicators for Rehabilitation Medicine”, promoting the standardization of rehabilitation medicine, and has released the authoritative “National Medical Service and Quality Safety Report (Rehabilitation Medicine Section)”. Quality control research shows that the early intervention rate for key diseases nationwide has steadily increased, with relevant indicators showing an average annual growth rate of 1%-2%. The improvement initiative on the “early intervention rate for rehabilitation” led by the center was recognized by the National Health Commission and resulted in the “Guidelines for Improving the Early Intervention Rate for Inpatients' Rehabilitation”. These practices have significantly improved the quality of rehabilitation services nationwide.

The Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Peking University Third Hospital has achieved remarkable results in the construction of subspecialties, forming a disciplinary system with bone and joint rehabilitation as its specialty and comprehensive development in neurologic and critical care rehabilitation. The bone and joint rehabilitation subspecialty was the first to implement the perioperative Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) model, serving over 100 referred patients annually, and was approved as a national pilot demonstration unit for ERAS in orthopedics, significantly improving patients' postoperative rehabilitation efficiency. It was the first in China to practice the integrated orthopedic rehabilitation model, achieving seamless integration of treatment and rehabilitation. Through collaboration among orthopedic physicians, rehabilitation physicians, and therapists, this model has established a perioperative rehabilitation system, significantly improving patients' postoperative functional recovery and reducing complications and readmission rates. Studies have shown that this model significantly reduces postoperative pain, accelerates functional recovery, and increases the return-to-work rate. It has been identified as a key promotion item under the “Beijing Science and Technology Key Projects for the Top Ten Diseases” and is widely applied nationwide. Furthermore, the integrated orthopedic rehabilitation model has gradually expanded to other disciplines, forming a “clinical-rehabilitation integration” work mode and providing an innovative example for multidisciplinary collaboration. Currently, the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine has established 12 early rehabilitation workstations, with the neurologic rehabilitation intervention rate ranking first among hospitals directly affiliated with and administered by the national and municipal health commissions, significantly improving patients' early functional recovery.

The Department of Rehabilitation Medicine has pioneered a multilevel and international talent cultivation system in the field of education. Through international collaborations such as the “Peking University–University of Southern California Joint Training Program for Occupational Therapy”, the department has cultivated a group of high-level rehabilitation specialists. In the past three years, it has cultivated 9 PhD students and 18 master's students, added 2 academic leaders, and 5 technical backbones. The department completes more than 2 national-level training programs annually, forming a talent cultivation model from the grassroots to high-end levels. Through innovative curriculum design, online teaching, and international exchanges, it continuously promotes the improvement of rehabilitation education quality, providing a solid guarantee for the development of rehabilitation in China. Moreover, it is currently a National Key Base for Standardized Training of Resident Physicians, a Specialized Base for Rehabilitation Nursing of the Chinese Nursing Association, a PhD degree-granting site at Peking University for Rehabilitation Medicine and Physical Therapy and for Rehabilitation Therapy, and the home institution of the Director of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Peking University, serving as a benchmark in the field of rehabilitation education in China.