CDC Issues Report to Congress on Traumatic Brain Injury in Children

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday released a congressionally-mandated report on the public health burden of traumatic brain injury in children and policy options to support care management for these children. Health care-related proposals include establishing clinical decision support to help incorporate a child’s history and family circumstances into medical reporting; developing procedures for health care providers to offer follow-up guidance and resources for continued TBI management; evaluating the effectiveness of health care-to-school transition programs and practices; developing models of care for people with a pediatric TBI history who transition to adult care; increasing formal training for health care providers related to TBI diagnosis and management; and expanding support for school-based health clinics and telemedicine, especially in rural areas. In 2013, CDC reported an estimated 640,000 emergency department visits and 18,000 hospital stays related to TBI by children under age 15.