Medical rehabilitation of elderly people : validity, needs and potential

Rehabilitation of people with disabilities is a process aimed at enabling them to reach and maintain their optimal physical, sensory, intellectual, psychological and social functional levels. WHO, in “World Report on Disability”, defines rehabilitation as a set of measures that assist individuals who experience, or are likely to experience, disability to achieve and maintain optimal functioning in interaction with their environments. Lack of rehabilitation services creates a barrier to full inclusion and participation in all aspects of life. The aim of this article was to present the nature of medical rehabilitation, in particular medical rehabilitation of elderly people. The basic definitions of medical rehabilitation and physiotherapy were also presented. The medical rehabilitation system in Poland, its organization and funding system was shown based on publications and statistical data of the Central Statistical Office (GUS) as well the access to medical rehabilitation services and selected medical procedures was assessed based on available data from National Health Fund (NFZ) and Ministry of Health (MZ).