Role of Health Services Research in Producing High-Value Rehabilitation Care

Abstract

The concept of value is receiving greater attention in rehabilitation and the broader health care environment. The overall purpose of this article is to present a framework to help clinicians, researchers, educators, and policy makers better understand the role of health services research in developing and evaluating evidence on value in rehabilitation. Value in health care is a multidimensional concept and may be defined differently by various stakeholders, but assessing value typically involves considering a combination of several health and economic outcomes. However, health care stakeholders often lack sufficient information on these outcomes to make well-informed decisions. Health services approaches such as comparative effectiveness research, patient-centered outcomes research, and health economics assessments are some ways to evaluate value. The evidence generated from such studies directly informs decision making and health policy. Rehabilitation professionals have a great opportunity to increase their engagement in describing, evaluating, delivering, and disseminating high-value care, but there are several barriers they need to consider to be most successful. Embracing health services research best practices is essential for advancing appropriate rehabilitation practice, research, and policy and for addressing challenges to implementing high-value care.