Abstract for presentation at 6th World Congress on Brain Injury

Introduction: Since 1998, when the Minister of Health defined the National Guidelines of Rehabilitation in the Country, there was a fast reorganization of rehabilitative intensive and extensive activities. Services and connections with social and health activities were determined together with assessment criteria of adequacy, effectiveness and efficiency with regard to the new ICF concepts. The field most affected was cerebrovasculopathies because of the number of case histories, of the recovery potential, if well defined, but also because before, rehabilitative treatments were supplied for long time even without a reasonable prognosis. This incongruity was especially strong in Brain Injury field. Scientific instructions on contents: SIMFER furthered National Guidelines for these activities, together with specialists, scientific Societies, Universitites and Institutes of Research and Rehabilitation and in particular with some Associations for people with disabilities. Rehabilitative aims, clinical instruments and organizational methods for the realization of a net of structures, able to grant services in the whole national area at the different complexity and continuity level were shared. The local Primary Care were involved too. A Stroke Unit was defined with neurologist and PRM doctors and now we're working on a Brain Injury Unit. Trauma Centers and serious cerebrolesions Units Network: In the next 3 years it's foreseen the creation of Institutes suited to receive at the right time patients with serious head trauma, every 3 millions peolpe, provided with (besides NCH and Intensive Care) rehabilitative structures for the primary care. These Rehabilitation Units will receive patients with serious Brain Injury also of other origin (vascular, oncologic or degenerative) and are included as priority in the network of rehabilitative activities of all Regions.