A Network initiative with Lakeridge Health and Scarborough Health Network has provided insights to help members with rehabilitative care planning.

Over the last year, the Network worked with Lakeridge Health and Scarborough Health Network to ensure their rehabilitative care services are ready to meet future demand in their area. The project looked at current and ideal state of patient volumes and flow, use of in-hospital programs and the internal processes in place to support rehabilitative care.

Findings and recommendations

The work generated a number of recommendations that provide useful guidance to other organizations wishing to optimize their rehabilitative care services:

  • Clear commitment to rehab: Establish a level of organizational commitment to rehab care and plan for improvements
  • Integrate rehab across all care: Promote an interdisciplinary approach in which a rehab care philosophy is integrated in all areas, including acute care.
  • Standardize/update processes and practices: Standardize and/or update processes and practices regarding eligibility criteria, rehab referrals and integration with acute care
  • Build data infrastructure, processes and reporting: Build the necessary data infrastructure, processes and reporting to better understand rehab and financial performance and maximize revenue
  • Provide additional training and education: Provide the necessary training and education to help staff understand their roles/responsibilities, new processes and how their actions impact revenue
  • Clear communication from leadership: Ensure there is clear communication and set expectations from leadership on how rehab contributes to organizational priorities

The findings may provide a useful framework to help other organizations identify areas for improvement. The Network is exploring how the methodology used in the initiative could be used by others and will host a forum in the fall to profile this and similar work and discuss how the Network can support the development of consistent guidelines and tools.

For more information, please contact project manager Sharon Ocampo-Chan.