Title: Telerehabilitation services for patients with orthopaedic conditions at the Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute of Bologna, Italy

Abstract:

Telerehabilitation (TR) refers to remote providing rehabilitation services intended to enable, restore, improve or otherwise maintain the psychophysical functioning of people of all ages, with disabilities or disorders, congenital or acquired, temporary or permanent, or at risk of developing them. This includes a wide array of services such as evaluation, assessment, monitoring, prevention, intervention, supervision, education, consultation, and coaching. In keeping with the concept of the Guidelines for telemedicine services of the Italian Ministry of Health, these services aim to improve home care and facilitate adequate remote rehabilitation.
Here we present the experience of telerehabilitation from projects and services offered for orthopaedic rehabilitation at the Rizzoli Hospital in Bologna, Italy, a highly specialised hospital and research institute in the field of orthopaedics and traumatology. Services range from tele-consultation which has been proved to be particularly useful for both patients and home therapists since discharge in the sub-acute phase from spine and oncologic surgery, to tele-evaluation and tele-rehabilitation for chronic degenerative diseases.
We summarize the pros and cons of our experience, and plan to undertake new projects that will further enhance patient care and expand upon these findings.

Biography:

Daniela Platano, born on January 12, 1969, is Physiatrist at Ospedale Rizzoli in Bologna and Senior Assistant Professor in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Bologna, Italy. She obtained her PhD in Neurophysiology in 2005, and in 2009 joined the Rizzoli Institute as a post-doctoral fellow engaged in research on mechanism of cartilage degeneration. Her residency program in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Bologna (2013-2019) was marked by a commitment to integrating research findings with clinical practice in a wide range of physical disabilities and musculoskeletal conditions. Her research is primarily focused on the integration of technologies in rehabilitation practices to improve outcomes for patients with debilitating acute and chronic orthopaedic conditions. She has published over 40 papers and she is a member of SIMFER, the Italian Society of Physical and Rehabilitative Medicine.