1. Salzburger Symposium Rehabilitationsforschung 2024
The first Salzburg Symposium for Rehabilitation Research took place on 22 November 2024. The presentations and discussions highlighted key challenges: The often complicated access to rehabilitation, the potential of digital solutions, interdisciplinary approaches and innovative concepts.
The opening was attended by high-ranking guests: Landeshauptmann Dr Wilfried Haslauer, Prof. Dr Wolfgang Sperl (Rector of Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg), Prof. Dr Freya Smolle-Jüttner (President of the LBG), Prof. Dr Tanja Stamm (Head of LBI Arthritis and Rehabilitation) and PD Dr Michael Fischer (LBI Rehabilitation Research) addressed the participants after Prim. Prof. Dr Dr Josef Niebauer, MBA (LBI for Digital Health and Prevention) opened the congress as the Salzburg host.
The programme and the speakers identified the current challenges and outlined solutions that were subject of lively discussions. With this successful event, Salzburg has positioned itself as the ideal location for an integrative and forward-looking centre for rehabilitation research, underlining the importance of the topic and the enormously successful pooling of expertise in the Austrian RehabHub.
Programm
- Opening and Welcome
- Session 1: Challenges on the way to rehabilitation
- Session 2: Are digital solutions a way to improve the quality of care in rehabilitation?
- Session 3: Cross-sectional subjects for rehabilitation research
- Session 4: Evidence and new concepts in rehabilitation in Austria
- Discussion round: Recognising opportunities and overcoming barriers
Session 1: Challenges on the way to rehabilitation
The topic of this session layed the base for the entire symposium: the often difficultand access to rehabilitation in Austria. Those affected do not always know whether they are eligible to rehabilitation, how are processed and what costs will be covered. The result is inadequate utilisation of a measure that is highly recommended by medical associations. Case managers or rehab nurses who support patients and simplify processes could provide solutions to this problem. In addition, innovative digital approaches such as the ‘HERO app’, presented by Isabel Höppchen, MSc (LBI for Digital Health and Prevention). Challenges in the area of complex referral and reimbursement processes were confirmed by doctors in private practice and also recognised by payers.
Session 2: Are digital solutions a way to improve the quality of care in rehabilitation?
At the centre of the discussion was the search for the best way to improve rehabilitation by support of digital tools. Digitalisation seems essential in order to provide home-based and telerehabilitative services for working people and people outside urban centres and to make referral processes more efficient. At the same time, there are still deficits in the linking and utilisation of health data as well as regulatory hurdles. Priv.-Doz. Dr Mahdi Sareban, MSc, who, like PD Dr Gunnar Treff (PMU), was part of the program committee, referred to international models for digital health apps. Successful approaches such as the Electronic Health Record (ELGA) and care programmes such as ‘Herz Mobil Tirol’ offer points of reference, but must be more strongly geared towards the prevention and rehabilitation sector. Another key outcome of this session, focused on the Salzburg LBI Digital Health and Prevention, was that recognition that collaboration between research institutes and funding bodies, such as pension insurance providers, should be strengthened to maximize synergies and enhance efficiency.
Session 3: Cross-sectional subjects for rehabilitation research
The session focussed on the interdisciplinary nature of rehabilitation research.
In addition to the fields of molecular regenerative medicine, exercise science (exercisephysiology), nursing science, methodology and health economics, the digital sciences are also of particular importance. Prof. Dr Hannes Winner (Paris Lodron University Salzburg) emphasised that the lack of access to data for the scientific community makes it infact difficult to evaluate rehabilitation from an economic perspective. The chairman PD Dr Gunnar Treff (Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg) summarised that rehabilitation research in Salzburg will need such interdisciplinary networking under one roof in the future.
Session 4: Evidence and new concepts in rehabilitation in Austria
The final session presented the contributions of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institutes of Rehabilitation Research, where Prim. PD. Dr Michael J. Fischer presented on critical success factors in rehabilitation, while Dr Bibiane Steinecker-Frohnwieser (LBI Arthritis and Rehabilitation) presented strategies for increasing sustainability in rehabilitation. Dr Monika Mustak-Blagusz, Chief Physician at the Pension Insurance Institution (PVA), spoke about the innovative ‘Reha Train’ programme and Prof. Bernhard Pfeifer, Head of Health Networking and TeleHealth at the Provincial Institute for Integrated Care Tyrol, provided insights into modular telemedicine in rehabilitation, which is used in Tyrol.
Discussion round: Recognising opportunities and overcoming barriers
The high-calibre discussion highlighted the urgent need for action: The transition from diagnosis to rehabilitation must work much more easily in Austria. Digitalisation was identified as a key opportunity to optimise processes – but only through interprofessional collaboration.
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