Where are neuroscience programs today?
At Neural Network Health, LLC we understand that neurology and clinical neuroscience is the key to the future of healthcare. However neuroscience clinical programs and services are still in their infancy. Most developed programs rest with academic institutions and university centers where clinical neuroscience research is tied to new discoveries and advanced methods of care. However, most hospitals, regional medical centers and clinics have not fully realized their potential in serving the growing number of complex patients with neurological needs.
Excellence is our goal because the future of health care depends on it.
We believe that with the right expertise and resources any healthcare provider, hospital, rehabilitation center and or speciality clinic that is charged with caring for people with neurological problems can create and support one or more service lines of excellence with our products and services.
Clinical Neuroscience Pathways
Neurology is a multi-faceted specialty that is unique in many ways. From a service-line aspect, neurology service expansion can support successful stand-alone or collaborative service lines. In other words, with a focus on creating quality and cost-effective services for people with neurological disorders, health care institutions can successful create a cache of niche programs that are best-in-class, person-centered and focused on clinical neureducation and research.
At the Regional Level
In one study, the breakdown of neurology 1-year referrals from a primary care clinic was as follows:
- Twenty percent (20% ) of clinic patients were referred to neurology for headache
- Twenty percent (20%) of clinical patients were referred to neurology for seizure or epilepsy
- Twenty percent (20%) of adult medical admissions in a regional hospital were for neurological disorders, including strokes (Morrow and Patterson, 1987).
Furthermore, of all disabilities, 28% were accounted for by neurological and psychiatric disorders (Menken, 2002).
On a global scale
In 2016, just two years before Neural Network Health was founded, The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) was published in The Lancet Neurology. The study is a foundational reference for the health care industry related to the growing impact of neurological diseases in all societies across the globe.
The study highlights that neurological disorders are the second leading cause of death after heart disease (1) and they are the leading cause of disability (2). Currently, there are an increasing number of people affected by neurological disorders. Since people are living longer as aged individuals, more of the population is facing disabling neurological diseases and associated functional loses that those neurological disease impose on them, their families, their workplaces and their societies.
(1) 9·0 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 8·8–9·4) deaths and 16·5% (16·1–17·0) of global deaths,
(2)276 million (247–308) DALYs and 11·6% (10·7–12·4) of global DALYs.
The numbers tell the story
The neuro demographics of society and the numbers of prevalent and incident cases of neurological disease alone underscore the case for building a neuroscience program.
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