A comparison of patients managed in specialist versus non-specialist inpatient rehabilitation units in Australia.
CONCLUSION: There are differences in the characteristics of patients admitted to specialist versus non-specialist rehabilitation units. Patients admitted to specialist rehabilitation units have greater functional gain. A noteworthy proportion of brain and spinal cord injury patients are not being rehabilitated in specialist rehabilitation units, particularly patients with non-traumatic injuries. Implications for rehabilitation Patients with a brain or spinal cord injury rehabilitated in specialist rehabilitation units achieve a greater functional gain than those in non-specialist units. Development of best practice admission guidelines would better enable the right care for the right patient in the right setting at the right time. There is a need for longitudinal examination of patient outcomes to better understand the long-term benefits of being rehabilitated in specialist rehabilitation units compared to non-specialist rehabilitation units.
PMID: 30763519 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Disability and Rehabilitation - Category: Rehabilitation Authors: McKechnie D, Pryor J, Fisher MJ, Alexander T Tags: Disabil Rehabil Source Type: research
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