Extending the Continuum of Care After Spinal Cord Injury Through Telerehabilitation

Spinal cord injury is life altering. Individuals and their families must deal with life long changes in physical abilities, vocational goals, social roles, and other basic aspects of life. Managed care has had a profound effect on the length of stay in acute and rehabilitation settings and on the availability of long-term services and support for people with spinal cord injury. Technological developments that bridge geographic distance offer new possibilities for meeting this challenge. This article describes Shepherd Center's development of telerehabilitation as a means of providing support and continued rehabilitation to patients and families after discharge. The article covers uses of telerehabilitation, lessons learned from this work, unresolved issues, and future applications.