Models of rehabilitation medical service delivery system in the world

ABSTRACT

In rehabilitation medicine, differences exist in programs and facilities of rehabilitation medical services provided for the acute, subacute, and chronic phases of a disorder caused by disease or trauma. The establishment of a rehabilitation medical delivery system is important as a way of providing appropriate rehabilitation medical services according to the timing and circumstances of the onset of a condition, but the domestic rehabilitation system is insufficient. The purpose of this study was to investigate the models of rehabilitation medical service delivery in representative countries such as the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom, and to examine the characteristics of the system of each country. Rehabilitation medical service systems vary from country to country, but each country has a unified mechanism for service linkage in order to deliver various services in an organic relationship with service users (persons with disabilities and families) and providers (government and medical facilities). It is necessary to construct a rehabilitation medical delivery system according to the circumstances in Korea based on a comparative analysis of the systems of other representative countries.