Expert opinion on rehabilitation for family caregivers released

From need to rehab: The inventory of rehabilitation for family caregivers commissioned by the BMG was completed in January 2014 and has now been released for publication by the Federal Ministry of Health.

Family caregivers are often exposed to high psychological and physical stresses that last for years. On the one hand, outpatient measures are needed to relieve the burden; on the other hand, there is a specific need for medical rehabilitation and inpatient preventive care measures for family caregivers due to the consequences of stress and illness. The use of rehabilitation or preventive care services by family caregivers is integrated into the context of organizational and content-related aspects of rehabilitation, such as application, clarification of the responsibility of the payer (DRV or GKV), approval reservation, assignment to a specific clinic, etc. On the other hand, for family caregivers the context of the home care situation is aggravating, with the question of adequate care for the care recipient during the rehabilitation measure, including additional organizational and financial aspects.

The report "From Need to Rehab: An Inventory of Medical Rehabilitation for Family Caregivers" presents a systematic inventory of the inpatient medical rehabilitation and preventive care services currently available in Germany, which are specifically tailored to the situation and needs of family caregivers in terms of content and organization. In particular, it is shown whether and to what extent the possibilities created by the Care Reorganization Act are already being implemented in the facilities (e.g., co-care of the person in need of care). Insofar as the outpatient framework conditions play a role in the utilization of inpatient rehabilitation and preventive care services, they are included.