Every year, nearly 5 million Americans are evaluated for traumatic brain injury in emergency departments across the country.
These injuries can happen in many different ways – from car crashes and military conflict to falls and everyday activities – and they’re diagnosed in around 2% of all United States emergency department visits.
Awareness of the magnitude of TBIs has increased over the last several decades, particularly in sports and the military. But a group of experts from across the nation say the country’s current system of care is often failing to meet the needs of the individuals, families and communities affected by traumatic brain injury.
“We as physicians are frustrated that there are significant limitations to what we can do for our patients for an injury that has real-life, debilitating consequences,” said Frederick Korley, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of emergency medicine at Michigan Medicine. “There are many important, structural changes that need to be made to provide better care for patients who often go through a prolonged recovery process.”
Korley is part of a select team of researchers who recently authored a report analyzing the health care system’s response to TBI for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The study, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, found that the lack of a comprehensive framework for classification, care and research poses significant burdens for everyone involved – leading to needless death, squandered human potential and soaring costs. Their report contains numerous recommendations for improving TBI care and research.
