APTA has released a statement commending the final report of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Medical Rehabilitation Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The association supports the panel's call for the development and implementation of a NIH rehabilitation research plan that is periodically updated, elevation of the role of the National Center for Rehabilitation Research within NIH's structure, and the elimination of "Medical" from the name of the center to better reflect the inclusive and multidisciplinary nature of rehabilitation, among other recommendations.

APTA members Rebecca Craik, PT, PhD, FAPTA, Anthony Delitto, PT, PhD, FAPTA, and Alan M. Jette, PT, PhD, FAPTA, served on the 13-member panel. The panel, formed in August 2011, was charged with assessing rehabilitation research across NIH while focusing on the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research.