Strategic Plan for Rehabilitation Services
Rehabilitation medicine systems all over the world faced nevertheless difficulties not only on economical grounds but in general, some of them even struggling to survive. In this context it is important to analyze what elements could or should policy makers and leaders of rehabilitation systems consider in order to maintain or even advance their position amidst the health system they live within, looking for a more stable and promising future. Five domains can be defined in research & development, strategic planning and creative thinking in rehabilitation medicine: 1-Measurement of clinical outcomes, 2-Including cost/effectiveness and quality assurance, 3-Services delivery: the continuum of care, 4-Technologies/procedures, 5-Pharmacological treatments, 6-Opportunities (“niches”). These domains will be described and analyzed vis-à-vis 30 years or personal involvement in this realm. However, each system – regional, national - or even facility should make a selection of what fits their strategic plan best, where whatever has been described can be easily incorporated, where human and material resources exist or can be acquired. The need for the justification of the services looks as a must but all the rest of the items described sub-serve this purpose and should be seriously considered. Above all, is our patients’ quality of life we should strive to improve.
Keywords : Rehabilitation services, rehabilitation, physiatry