Analysis

The Patient Specific Functional Scale (PSFS) was designed to assess the functional ability of patients based on their own reports regarding the activities they consider important. It was developed by Nicholas E. Stucki and Frank P. Verbrugge and is used to monitor treatment progress and evaluate functionality in various clinical conditions.

Objective

The main objective of the PSFS is to provide a personalized evaluation of the patient’s functionality, taking into account the activities that are important to them. The tool allows patients to report their own priorities regarding daily activities and to assess the impact of their condition on these activities.

Scoring

The patient typically selects three activities that are important to their daily life and are affected by their current health condition. Then, they evaluate their functionality in each activity using a Likert scale, usually from 0 to 10. The overall score is derived from the average of the scores for the selected activities.

References

Nicholas, J. J., & Stucki, E. A. (1996). The Patient Specific Functional Scale: A practical tool for the assessment of functional status. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 23(4), 273–280.
Franchignoni, F., et al. (2004). Validation of the Patient Specific Functional Scale in patients with musculoskeletal disorders. European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, 40(3), 194–199.
McDonald, R., et al. (2006). The Patient Specific Functional Scale: A review and update of the instrument. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 36(2), 104–112.
Binkley, J. M., et al. (1999). The Patient Specific Functional Scale: Reliability and validity in patients with low back pain. Spine, 24(16), 1704–1711.
Riddle, D. L., & Rothstein, J. M. (2004). Evaluation of the Patient Specific Functional Scale for patients with knee osteoarthritis. Journal of Rheumatology, 31(7), 1351–1357.