Kurt Kroenke, M.D., says healthcare only focuses on the first year after a traumatic brain injury is received.
Transcript:
A lot of people look at traumatic brain injury as an acute condition, and a lot of our healthcare system and reimbursement is aligned on what happens during the first 6 to 12 months. But what’s been discovered when people are followed over time, there’s an important proportion of patients where it becomes a chronic condition like diabetes or asthma or heart failure or depression, and so the care for a number of these patients needs to be over a lifetime rather than over a year.
Dr. Kroenke says new models of care are needed for patients with traumatic brain injury.
Transcript:
Recognizing traumatic brain injuries as a chronic condition makes a difference to both patients and the healthcare system in a few ways. One is it recognizes that in many patients, it’s not over after 12 months. It makes a difference in terms of reimbursement. There are 17 conditions that are recognized as chronic conditions by Medicare and also often by Medicaid. Now that Medicare has recognized it, I think that opens the door for new models of care, and that, in turn, may guide healthcare system changes where they have better integration of physical rehab specialists with primary care.
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