Specialized rehabilitative care is required for some patient populations to ensure good patient outcomes and efficient care.

Last year, the University of Toronto’s Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation group, alongside the GTA Rehab Network (GTA RN), identified ten rehabilitation populations that require a specialized approach: acquired brain injury (ABI), amputee, burn, cardiovascular, complex trauma, oncology, pediatric, pulmonary, spinal cord injury and stroke.  The GTA RN then took the lead in developing guidance documents to help standardize specialized rehab care across the Greater Toronto Area. The documents include descriptions of specialized rehab programs for the populations, as well as detailed profiles of patients who would require such care.

Drawing on this comprehensive work, the Rehab Care Alliance’s Specialized Rehab Task Group was convened to review and revise, as needed, the population-specific guidance document from the perspective of its applicability as a provincial tool. It’s a nuanced process that includes geographical considerations; for example, exploration of a “hub and spoke” model of care for rural communities without ready access to specialized health care centres.

To date, the group has adapted guidelines for ABI, amputee, complex trauma, pulmonary and spinal cord injury patient populations. Adaptations of specialized guidance for stroke patients are currently in progress.  The remaining four patient populations previously included provincial input and will be further reviewed by the Specialized Rehab Task Group.

When finalized, all guidance documents will be shared with Ontario Health and Ontario Health Teams to guide the provision of specialized rehabilitative care.

For more information, please contact Sue Balogh, Project Manager.