January 28, 2011 - U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords' extraordinary progress has captivated the nation, and the exemplary medical care she has received this far leaves hope that she will recover from her injuries. Reportedly, she already has begun initial rehabilitation.
Descriptions suggest her care will include what is widely considered the gold standard in rehabilitation, Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy (CRT), which is considered the treatment of choice for traumatic brain injuries because it is comprehensive, individualized, multidisciplinary, and coordinated. The goals of CRT are to restore cognitive function to the extent possible, maximize functional adaptation to the injuries sustained, and to encourage compliance to recommended treatments. A large body of respectable scientific evidence exists to support CRT's effectiveness.
Here's the bad news: Thousands of military veterans who have sustained life altering traumatic brain injuries similar to Giffords' do not receive this coordinated, holistic, and individualized rehabilitative care because the military's insurance provider, Tricare, does not cover CRT for its beneficiaries (military personnel, veterans, and their families).
In an article published by MSNBC Jan. 10, part of the optimism regarding Giffords' prognosis has to do with the effectiveness of the rehabilitative therapy that she is likely to receive. The article states, "Victims such as Giffords receive expert treatment because many trauma surgeons have learned from the battlefield lessons of Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Access to comprehensive, sustained cognitive rehabilitation therapy is the key." In a second article from Politico, Dr. Gregory O'Shanick, chairman and past medical director of the Brain Injury Association of America, spoke about Representative Gifford and stated, "The acute outcome is related to the speed at which she received care." He further added, "The recovery long term is dependent on her receiving really aggressive and seamless rehabilitation." Dr. Steve Williams, rehab chief at Boston Medical Center and the Boston University School of Medicine noted that "'[o]ver the last five to 10 years, there has been a big push to getting patients rapidly to rehab,' because research shows they recover faster and better the earlier therapy starts." {continued}
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Denied Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy (CRT)
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