September 27, 2008
I recently read an a article in the Chicago Sun Times reporting how the fabled Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) (http://www.ric.org/) had introduced a new treatment program designed to help stroke patients with aphasia. RIC’s four-week aphasia “boot camp” (http://www.ric.org/conditions/stroke/services/Intensive_Aphasia_Program.aspx) offers stroke survivors speech and language therapy five-to-six hours per day, five days a week. That’s a sharp contrast to the two hours of weekly outpatient treatment received by the majority of aphasia patients.
Innovative treatments for problems such as aphasia are typical of RIC’s approach to rehabilitation. Such programs offer a partial explanation of why U.S. News and World Report has chosen RIC as the "#1 Rehabilitation Hospital in America" for some 17 years running. No other specialty hospital has received a comparable ranking for such an extended period of time.
RIC is clearly and leader and innovator in rehabilitation. Following are just some of the elements and programs that make RIC a consistent winner:
Technological breakthroughs: RIC never stops pushing the envelope of high-tech innovation. In September 2008, it announced a robotic solution that helps stroke patients walk, while its bionic arm was featured on ABC’s “Medical Mystery.”
Social responsibility: RIC doesn’t just care for its rehab patients; it empowers members of the disabled community. In August 2008, RIC sent three disabled athletes to participate in the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing.
Telling the patient’s story: RIC has a tradition of telling “stories of restored ability.” Recently, RIC received world-wide media coverage for its success in saving a two-year old Vietnamese boy who had been left in the jungle to die and was mauled by animals before being saved by a group of monks. .
Mission + passion =success: RIC launched its “What A Difference ONE Can Make” campaign, which showcases how RIC patients, employees and community supporters act upon RIC’s mission, vision and values “to make meaningful differences in the world each and every day.”
This is just a partial portrait. RIC has achieved respect and notoriety in many areas, including strategic alliances, research, quality tracking and reporting, specialized services, condition management and a team approach to treatment. While the majority of rehab providers may never achieve RIC’s standing and celebrity status, we can learn from its successes, mission, philosophy and vision “to make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities.”
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Monday, September 1, 2008
Exercise still transforms the lives of rehab patients
September 1, 2008
Let’s not give up on the basics
In the era of telemedicine, clinical and business healthcare information systems and other technological marvels, it’s comforting to realize that exercise still delivers incredible benefits to rehab patients. One recent study tells the tale. Stroke patients who walk on a treadmill can improve their health and mobility—sometimes years after stroke damage occurs. Exercise actually retrains the brains and bodies of stroke victims, according to research from Johns Hopkins (http://www.hopkinsneuro.org). appearing in the August 28, 2008 issues of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association (http://stroke.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/STROKEAHA.108.527531v1?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=exercise+Johns+Hopkins+2008&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT)
Researchers from Johns Hopkins, the University of Maryland and the Department of Veterans Affairs Maryland VA Medical Center Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC) (http://www1.va.gov/grecc/page.cfm?pg=17) are convinced that this latest piece of research carries several important implications: Exercise can help in treating stroke damage, allowing both the brain and body to recover. Moreover, the treadmill exercise program helps patients’ brain rewire months and even years after initial stroke damage.
What the study also suggests is that rehab professionals need not limit themselves to short-term improvements of stroke patients. Instead, we can focus on long-term improvements, knowing that patients derive benefit from walking on a treadmill even decades after a stroke. For example, one patient in the Hopkins study still experienced the benefits of treadmill exercise some 20 years after having a stroke.
Speaking of the benefits of exercise in rehab, let’s not forget about the power of WiiFit
Sue Stanley-Green, a professor of athletic training at Florida Southern College, believes that WiiFit and other fitness-related games have significant potential for strength training and help boost compliance with rehabilitation exercises (http://technologyinfo.wordpress.com/2008/06/16/wiifit-latest-rehab-therapy/). Even nursing homes are experimenting with WiiFit. In fact, bowling has become such a favorite at nursing homes that staffs have organized tournaments involving 20 seniors.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Telemedicine May Revolutionize Rehab
Telemedicine May Revolutionize Rehab
August 20, 2008
Stroke patients who live outside of major urban cities can benefit from physicians’ use of telemedicine programs as opposed to traditional telephone consultations, according to research at the University of California San Diego Medical Center appearing in the August 2, 2008 online edition of Lancet Neurology. (http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/18338)
STRokE DOC transports physicians via computer to a stroke patient's bedside using video, audio and Internet technology. Using the new technology, physicians can make better treatment decisions than if they performed telephone consultations. For example, those who used STRokE DOC made correct treatment decisions 98 percent of the time, as compared to an 82 percent correct decision treatment rate for telephone consultations. . The reasons are easy to understand. The STRokE DOC technology gives the physician real-time visual and audio access to the stroke patient, medical team and medical data at the remote site. Meanwhile, patients and their families can see, hear, and communicate with the physician.
Of course, the University of California San Diego Medical Center isn’t alone in using telemedicine technology for stroke therapy. The New Haven Register reports that Yale-New Haven physicians are now examining stroke patients at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in New London, Connecticut.
Yale New Haven took the lead in developing the state’s first telemedicine program called the Stroke Network, which allows physicians and other care professionals to see and speak with patients and with each other. Staff members can also transfer diagnostic images such as X-rays and CT scans using the system.
Joseph L. Schindler, clinical director of the Yale-New Haven Stroke Center, says that because initial stroke diagnoses are wrong 30 to 50 percent of the time, physicians must view patients’ CT scans to find tumors or swelling.
And what of the future? “The quality of telemedicine is likely to improve and become more acceptable to patients and physicians,” predicts Thomas Nesbitt, MD, writing in iHealthBeat (http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2008/7/22/Does-Telemedicine-Have-a-Role-in-TechnologyEnabled-Health-Care-Reform.aspx?topicID=60).
The “Holy Grail in healthcare reform” must combine cost reductions with improved access, quality and patient safety, writes Dr. Nesbitt. Telemedicine has emerged as one component of a .” technology-enabled health care system” featuring electronic health records, medical informatics and decision support.
Stay posted for more telemedicine developments and how technologies will transform rehab. Meanwhile, if you’re interested in reading up on telemedicine in rehab, try these resources:
Gingrich, Center for Health Transformation Push Value of Telemedicine
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=8803
Telemedicine Leads to Better Stroke Treatment Decisions
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/543158/
Telemedicine Improves Rural Stroke Care
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/Strokes/tb/10393
August 20, 2008
Stroke patients who live outside of major urban cities can benefit from physicians’ use of telemedicine programs as opposed to traditional telephone consultations, according to research at the University of California San Diego Medical Center appearing in the August 2, 2008 online edition of Lancet Neurology. (http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/18338)
STRokE DOC transports physicians via computer to a stroke patient's bedside using video, audio and Internet technology. Using the new technology, physicians can make better treatment decisions than if they performed telephone consultations. For example, those who used STRokE DOC made correct treatment decisions 98 percent of the time, as compared to an 82 percent correct decision treatment rate for telephone consultations. . The reasons are easy to understand. The STRokE DOC technology gives the physician real-time visual and audio access to the stroke patient, medical team and medical data at the remote site. Meanwhile, patients and their families can see, hear, and communicate with the physician.
Of course, the University of California San Diego Medical Center isn’t alone in using telemedicine technology for stroke therapy. The New Haven Register reports that Yale-New Haven physicians are now examining stroke patients at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in New London, Connecticut.
Yale New Haven took the lead in developing the state’s first telemedicine program called the Stroke Network, which allows physicians and other care professionals to see and speak with patients and with each other. Staff members can also transfer diagnostic images such as X-rays and CT scans using the system.
Joseph L. Schindler, clinical director of the Yale-New Haven Stroke Center, says that because initial stroke diagnoses are wrong 30 to 50 percent of the time, physicians must view patients’ CT scans to find tumors or swelling.
And what of the future? “The quality of telemedicine is likely to improve and become more acceptable to patients and physicians,” predicts Thomas Nesbitt, MD, writing in iHealthBeat (http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2008/7/22/Does-Telemedicine-Have-a-Role-in-TechnologyEnabled-Health-Care-Reform.aspx?topicID=60).
The “Holy Grail in healthcare reform” must combine cost reductions with improved access, quality and patient safety, writes Dr. Nesbitt. Telemedicine has emerged as one component of a .” technology-enabled health care system” featuring electronic health records, medical informatics and decision support.
Stay posted for more telemedicine developments and how technologies will transform rehab. Meanwhile, if you’re interested in reading up on telemedicine in rehab, try these resources:
Gingrich, Center for Health Transformation Push Value of Telemedicine
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=8803
Telemedicine Leads to Better Stroke Treatment Decisions
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/543158/
Telemedicine Improves Rural Stroke Care
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/Strokes/tb/10393
Friday, August 8, 2008
Baby Boomers Promise to Fuel Outpatient Rehab Market
August 8, 2008
Let’s seize the moment!
Many trends are driving growth in the outpatient rehab market—from chronic disease prevention and use rate increases, to new practice locations, technology and outcomes measures And let’s not forget the Baby Boomers, as well the general aging of our population.
And how will the burgeoning Baby Boomer segment fuel the need for outpatient rehab? It seems like this demographic group isn’t likely to retire to the couch or rocking chair anytime soon. Baby boomers now suffer from more sports-related injuries as they take up sports and other activities later in life, according to research disseminated by Temple University. This, of course, means more trips to the local hospital emergency department, as well as more referrals to outpatient rehab.
The people whose cultural touchpoints include Woodstock, the Haight Ashbury and Timothy Leary are now having to contend with muscle tears, knee pain, and tennis elbow, as well as worries about having enough money for retirement. Boomers’ passion for physical activity and sports—and for staying young-- has even given rise to a quasi medical phenomenon called “boomeritis.” After all, how else would you describe a 60-year-old wanna-be roller blader with serious aches and pains?
Asif Ilyas, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon at Temple University, claims that while joint replacements used to be limited to the elderly, Baby Boomers are now likely candidates. As the fastest growing segment of the population, Baby Boomers are living longer and healthier. And they don’t think twice about participating in sports and activities their Depression/World War II parents would have rejected as too tiring, difficult or stressful.
Whether Baby Boomers decide to take up softball, jogging, tennis or weight lifting, their athletic passion comes with a price. Yale orthopedic surgeon, Robert A. Stanton, M.D., is another medical pundit who says that sports-crazy Baby Boomers are more likely to end up in hospital emergency departments due to sports related injuries, according to Science Daily.
Interestingly, Dr. Stanton is also a champion of injury prevention among Boomers, advocating activities such as warming up, stretching and wearing bicycle helmets. In fact he helped to launch a public education program aimed at preventing sports injuries among Boomers called Boomeritis. Run by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine, Boomeritis (http://www.boomer-itis.org/) offers information on injuries and treatments, as well as injuries specific to certain sports.
Outpatient rehab is in the process of re-inventing itself and we can thank Baby Boomers for fueling its growth and giving us a new set of professional challenges.
For more on Baby Boomer injuries, check out the following resources:
· Baby Boomer Sports Injuries Keep Doctors Busy http://seniorliving.about.com/b/2007/08/01/active-baby-boomers-keep-doctors-busy-treating-sports-injuries.htm
· Aging Baby Boomers May Increase Work-Related Injuries http://seniorliving.about.com/b/2007/08/01/active-baby-boomers-keep-doctors-busy-treating-sports-injuries.htm
· Baby Boomers’ Bodies Impacted by Years of Wear and Tear http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/109025.php
Let’s seize the moment!
Many trends are driving growth in the outpatient rehab market—from chronic disease prevention and use rate increases, to new practice locations, technology and outcomes measures And let’s not forget the Baby Boomers, as well the general aging of our population.
And how will the burgeoning Baby Boomer segment fuel the need for outpatient rehab? It seems like this demographic group isn’t likely to retire to the couch or rocking chair anytime soon. Baby boomers now suffer from more sports-related injuries as they take up sports and other activities later in life, according to research disseminated by Temple University. This, of course, means more trips to the local hospital emergency department, as well as more referrals to outpatient rehab.
The people whose cultural touchpoints include Woodstock, the Haight Ashbury and Timothy Leary are now having to contend with muscle tears, knee pain, and tennis elbow, as well as worries about having enough money for retirement. Boomers’ passion for physical activity and sports—and for staying young-- has even given rise to a quasi medical phenomenon called “boomeritis.” After all, how else would you describe a 60-year-old wanna-be roller blader with serious aches and pains?
Asif Ilyas, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon at Temple University, claims that while joint replacements used to be limited to the elderly, Baby Boomers are now likely candidates. As the fastest growing segment of the population, Baby Boomers are living longer and healthier. And they don’t think twice about participating in sports and activities their Depression/World War II parents would have rejected as too tiring, difficult or stressful.
Whether Baby Boomers decide to take up softball, jogging, tennis or weight lifting, their athletic passion comes with a price. Yale orthopedic surgeon, Robert A. Stanton, M.D., is another medical pundit who says that sports-crazy Baby Boomers are more likely to end up in hospital emergency departments due to sports related injuries, according to Science Daily.
Interestingly, Dr. Stanton is also a champion of injury prevention among Boomers, advocating activities such as warming up, stretching and wearing bicycle helmets. In fact he helped to launch a public education program aimed at preventing sports injuries among Boomers called Boomeritis. Run by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine, Boomeritis (http://www.boomer-itis.org/) offers information on injuries and treatments, as well as injuries specific to certain sports.
Outpatient rehab is in the process of re-inventing itself and we can thank Baby Boomers for fueling its growth and giving us a new set of professional challenges.
For more on Baby Boomer injuries, check out the following resources:
· Baby Boomer Sports Injuries Keep Doctors Busy http://seniorliving.about.com/b/2007/08/01/active-baby-boomers-keep-doctors-busy-treating-sports-injuries.htm
· Aging Baby Boomers May Increase Work-Related Injuries http://seniorliving.about.com/b/2007/08/01/active-baby-boomers-keep-doctors-busy-treating-sports-injuries.htm
· Baby Boomers’ Bodies Impacted by Years of Wear and Tear http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/109025.php
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