Heads Up: Brain Injury in Your Practice – A Tool Kit for Physicians is an information packet about TBI developed specifically for doctors. If you or a loved one has sustained a TBI, you may wish to considering passing it along to your PCP.
From the site:
An estimated 75%-90% of the 1.4 million traumatic brain injury-related deaths, hospitalizations, and emergency department visits that occur each year are concussions or mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI).
Many individuals who sustain an MTBI are not hospitalized or receive no medical care at all. An unknown proportion of those who are not hospitalized may experience long-term problems such as persistent headache, pain, fatigue, vision or hearing problems, memory problems, confusion, sleep disturbances, or mood changes. Symptoms of MTBI or concussion may appear mild, but can lead to significant, life-long impairment affecting an individual’s ability to function physically, cognitively, and psychologically.
Physicians can play a key role in helping to prevent MTBI or concussion and improve a patient’s health outcomes through early diagnosis, management, and appropriate referral.
In response, CDC, in collaboration with an expert work group, has recently updated and revised the “Heads Up: Brain Injury in Your Practice” tool kit. This tool kit is available free-of-charge and contains practical, easy-to-use clinical information and tools, including:
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a booklet with information on diagnosis and management of MTBI;
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a patient assessment tool (Acute Concussion Evaluation or ACE);
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a care plan to help guide a patient’s recovery;
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fact sheets in English and Spanish on preventing concussion;
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a palm card for the on-field management of sports-related concussion; and
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a CD-ROM with downloadable kit materials and additional MTBI resources.
Information for Physicians (these are pdfs)
Broken Brain - Brilliant Mind 
By the by – this should also be standard info for police (who are the ones at the traffic accidents), ER docs, and ALL psychologists/psychiatrists – believe me those folks are pretty naive too.
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I totally agree. I’m thinking about either finding or putting together something that people can print out and send to their local law enforcers. I’m thinking that if everyday citizens forward info to those folks, they may be able to make a difference.
Hospitals, too, should have this, as should EMTs who I’ve heard horror stories about.
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Okay – now here’s a thought for you – you are doing a great job with this blog and you have work and a family life and are trying to work at rehab. So, ask yourself honestly – how can you keep up your efforts to advocate without overwhelming yourself and creating a situation where you feel over your head and get angry? I say this because its what I do as well. Contact your brain injury association and find out if there are any groups that are doing bi advocacy or support in your area and find out if they have written documents etc that they distribute. Contact them and say you’d like to help and be a part of it, but also stress that you may not be able to make a regular commitment as you have a lot on your plate but you want to keep your hand in. If they are familiar with tbi they will understand this. You may be able to add your comments to what exists, you may distribute existing documents, you may do any number of things, including just checking in with them once in a while – but you don’t have to own the task. Not to say you shouldn’t or you are not capable but that you need to assess what is in your best interests, how to focus your attention and energy on what you need right now to get your life to a place where you can then put a regular and consistent percent of yourself into the activity. This is NOT failure, not less than – this is sensible thinking about your life and using yourself to your best.
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Yah, you’re right — I just got spinning, because I’m so tired and out of sorts. I tend to do that — come up with grand plans — when I’m worn out. It’s madness — but it’s a very predictable madness that tells me loud and clear that I’m in over my head and need to sleep. Yowza
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