Since its inception, the NICoE has reviewed a number of patient cases where the full four-week IOP wasn’t necessary but where a plan of care beyond a traditional, same-day outpatient service was needed. The need for an evaluation-only type program, and not an evaluation and treatment program, was the driving force for development and piloting the NICoE Evaluation Track (NET).
Designed as a one-week program, the NET is being evaluated as an alternative to the IOP for its potential to clarify TBI diagnosis and identify treatment recommendations to patients and home station referring providers. The NET pilot program was launched with a small cohort of patients in December 2014 to gather initial data. Information from this cohort was used to refine the program, and the next phase of the NET was launched in late 2015. Continuing evaluation of the NET may allow the NICoE to address a critical need for patients who require a thorough TBI evaluation, or perhaps a re-evaluation, of their TBI condition.