ABSTRACT
Burn rehabilitation is an essential component of successful patient care. In May 2008, a group of burn rehabilitation clinicians met to discuss the status and future needs of burn rehabilitation. Fifteen topic areas pertinent to clinical burn rehabilitation were addressed. Consensus positions and suggested future research directions regarding the physical aspects of burn rehabilitation are shared.
Subject(s)
Biomedical Research , Burn Units/standards , Burns/rehabilitation , Rehabilitation/standards , Burns/psychology , Cicatrix/therapy , Critical Care/standards , Documentation , Humans , Rehabilitation/education , Survivors/psychology , TexasABSTRACT
Burn rehabilitation has been a part of burn care and treatment for many years. Yet, despite of its longevity, the rehabilitation outcome of patients with severe burns is less than optimal and appears to have leveled off. Patient survival from burn injury is at an all-time high. Burn rehabilitation must progress to the point where physical outcomes parallel survival statistics in terms of improved patient well-being. This position article is a treatise on burn rehabilitation and the state of burn rehabilitation patient outcomes. It describes burn rehabilitation interventions in brief and why a need is felt to bring this issue to the forefront. The article discusses areas for change and the challenges facing burn rehabilitation. Finally, the relegation and acceptance of this responsibility are addressed.
Subject(s)
Burns/rehabilitation , Burns/mortality , Burns/therapy , Humans , Rehabilitation Centers , Survival Rate , Treatment Outcome , United States/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Telemedicine is an evolving technology that is used for health education, health care administration, and health care distribution. The potential benefits of telemedicine include a decrease in travel expenses, improved continuity of care, and increased access to specialized consultants, thus meeting the needs of patients, practitioners, and communities. Telemedicine has many evolving applications, including improved access to health care in medically underserved and rural areas. Regions Burn Center assessed the efficacy and efficiency of burn visits via telemedicine and identified the barriers and benefits specific to burn care. Information regarding travel costs and financial data were evaluated from a total of 1000 burn follow-up visits with 294 patients via telemedicine during a 5-year interval. Our results indicate that telemedicine burn visits are a cost-effective clinical alternative for the patient. However, telemedicine can be a financial burden to health care systems and inefficient for health care providers.