Sections
Systems of Care: Introduction | Rehabilitation and Community Systems | Professionals Who Treat Individuals With TBI | Settings of Care | Sources of Funding and Public Policy Aspects | Conclusion | Key Clinical Points | Recommended Readings | References
Excerpt
In terms of sheer numbers of cases, patients with
mild and moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) far outnumber the
severely injured, and frequently these are essentially physically
independent individuals struggling with isolated psychiatric problems
of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety reactions,
and less severe cognitive and behavioral disturbances. Appropriate
psychological and psychiatric care, as detailed in the chapters
of this textbook, is essential. For the more severely injured patient
with TBI, however, a more complex pattern of care is typical. The
aim of this chapter is to provide a general overview of the treatment
environment that will be the backdrop for most neuropsychiatric
care. It is hoped that as more awareness of these parallel resources
emerges, a better integration between them will occur, to the benefit
of the patients and families enduring the consequences of TBI. In
this chapter we also describe public and private sources of funding
and the efforts of state governments (in part as a source of funding)
to address gaps in the system and encourage the development of needed
services.