Memberships & Associated Organisations

Asociacion Chilena de Terapia de la Mano
In Santiago (Chile), during December 2015, the “Asociación Chilena de Terapia de la Mano” (ACHITEMA) was created, during the first meeting of the ACHITEMA. This organisation is based on the precepts of the Chilean Society of Hand Therapy which was founded in 1997 and was inactive until 2015.
Directors: PT Marcela Antúnez, OT Ricardo Banda, PT Eduardo Muñiz, OT Francisco Bustos, OT Ximena Díaz, OT Daniel Zavala, PT Rigoberto Moya, PT Carlos Navarrete, OT Patricia Pinto, OT Paula Duran and OT Francisco Nilo.

1. VISION
To integrate a group of professionals to constitute the therapy of hand in Chile as specialty recognised by different relevant authorities at national level, which certify the quality and competence of the professionals dedicated to the hand therapy in our country to respond to the epidemiology profile of the patients with orthopaedic and traumatic pathologies of the hand.

2. MISSION
a) To develop, to update and to spread the discipline of hand therapy in an integrated manner between Physical and Occupational Therapists to contribute to the scientific development of the specialty at a national level.
b) To enhance team development of the discipline of hand therapy together with medical specialists, giving our patients assertive therapeutic answers based on clinical and scientific evidence.
c) To extend a technical and humanist intervention towards rehabilitation models centralised in the person with an upper extremity dysfunction, under a biopsychosocial model.

3. GOALS
a) To promote the development of hand therapy in the follow areas:
i. Training
ii. Research
iii. Teaching
iv. Clinic

b) To do scientific meetings to enhance our association’s development, opening to all those interested in participating in a non-profit manner.
c) To participate together with the committee of hand of the Chilean Society of Orthopaedic and Traumatology, to enhance an integral approach to our patients.
d) To develop assessment guides in upper extremity with the aim of unifying functional assessment criteria of our patients and to promote the development of scientific research at national level.
e) To create places of regional development at national level to integrate at a central level, sharing experiences of different country places and giving assessment to the professionals who live in remote areas.
f) To participate actively in relevant South American and International scientific meetings to share professional experiences with designation or approval of the association’s directors.
g) To participate and to share technical knowledge with other scientific groups from diverse disciplines related directly or indirectly to hand therapy.
h) To certify the quality of its associated in terms of the regulation approved by the directors of ACHITEMA.
i) To integrate scientific and socially to the Hand Committee of the Chilean Society of Orthopaedic and Traumatology.
j) To keep the affiliation and communication with the International Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy.