Further, the study underscored that inpatient rehab plays a unique and positive role in treating patients recovering from COVID-19. Discover key strategies hospitals can use to improve outcomes through rehabilitation for patients recovering from COVID-19.
Importance of Rehab for Patients Recovering from COVID-19
At least 700,000 Americans recovering from COVID-19 will require inpatient rehabilitative care.(2) After just three days in the ICU, patients may lose up to 9% of muscle mass, while some reports indicate that brain scans of COVID-19 patients may resemble that of a traumatic brain injury.
This may leave a patient too weak to participate in three hours of therapy per day. To combat this issue, temporary regulatory changes, such as the waiving of the three-hour rule and preauthorization requirements, will lead to an influx of Medicare beneficiaries who qualify for and will benefit from inpatient rehab.
Benefits of Partnerships in Post-Acute COVID-19 Recovery
Strong partnerships between short-term acute care hospitals and post-acute providers are more important than ever. Two of the key benefits include:
- Overflow relief, increased patient access, and utilization of rehab for COVID-19 patient recovery.
- Support in making clinically appropriate decisions for patient rehabilitative care.
Outsourcing rehab management services to a trusted partner allows hospitals to stay focused on managing their core service lines while relying on an expert to relieve the burden of running rehab, ensuring clinical excellence, maintaining regulatory compliance and helping patients return home safely.
Case Study: Partnership Key to Success Through COVID-19
Kindred Hospital Rehab Services (KHRS) has found that the integration of rehabilitation through partnerships has positively impacted patient outcomes and helped hospitals gain capacity as a result of transferring recovering patients to a more appropriate level of care.
During the month of April 2020:
> KHRS partner hospital acute census fell 35% during COVID-19, while KHRS-run acute rehab unit’s (ARU) census dropped 16%
> KHRS-run ARU census was 12% of acute census pre-COVID-19, and increased to 17% in April
According to the findings, KHRS partners benefited from greater patient access through KHRS’s clinical knowledge and access to best practices from a wealth of outcomes data; increased patient engagement and motivation, and improved administrative and operational processes through intuitive technology; and relief from the burden of running rehab through deep rehab expertise and 30+ years of experience.
For More Information: Critical role rehab covid 19 recovery