[Integrated neurorehabilitation improves efficacy of treatment].

[Integrated neurorehabilitation improves efficacy of treatment]. Nervenarzt. 2018 Nov 16;: Authors: Knecht S, Studer B Abstract Neurorehabilitation comprises medical and functional treatment. If patients in the post-hospital phase need acute medical interventions but these cannot be provided by the rehabilitation center, patients must be referred to suitable acute care hospitals; however, such referrals incur additional costs, are fraught with medical risks and delay further rehabilitation. We evaluated how integrating non-neurological medical specialties and a hospital unit into a neurorehabilitation center affects the rate of acute hospital referrals. The special situation in North-Rhine Westfalia, which was the last state in Germany to grant restricted hospital certification to neurorehabilitation centers, enabled a longitudinal assessment over 10 years. We analyzed the referral rate at one of the first hospitals in the state, which in addition to rehabilitation treatment (according to § 40 of the Social Security Code V, SGB V) now also provide hospital treatment (according to § 39 SGB V) and have reorganized in preparation for integrated treatment structures. In the center investigated (St. Mauritius Therapy Hospital Meerbusch) the average patient age increased between 2007 and 2017 from 69 years to 72 years and the proportion of severely ill patients on admission by 70%. Starting in 2012 integrated structures were establ...
Source: Der Nervenarzt - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Nervenarzt Source Type: research