The care the best‑resourced systems specify, for everyone else
The right question deserves an answer before the next appointment. The Anatomy of Recovery Care describes the clinical components that make recovery care work between visits.
The Anatomy of Recovery Care
The Anatomy of Recovery Care brings together the recurring elements found across well-resourced injury systems and translates them into a practical outpatient pathway.
- 01
Whole-person first assessment
Understand symptoms, function, psychology, daily life, and the care already in place.
- 02
Standardized measures
Use named clinical instruments where they add more clarity than impression alone.
- 03
Scheduled follow-up
Follow recovery on a calendar instead of waiting for the patient to find the next doorway.
- 04
Graduated return
Advance activity in stages, with clear clinical criteria for the next step.
- 05
Action thresholds
Define when a change calls for review, outreach, referral, or a different level of care.
- 06
Care coordination
Give someone responsibility for helping the patient and providers connect the next step.
- 07
Safety net
Identify urgent warning signs before the routine recovery pathway continues.
- 08
Individual baseline
Compare the patient with their reported pre-injury function and their own recovery over time.
- 09
Psychological health
Include mood, anxiety, stress, and related concerns within the injury-recovery pathway.
- 10
Purposeful testing
Use tests when they can inform care, rather than treating more testing as better care.
- 11
Accountable return
Make the final return to full activity a considered clinical decision, not an assumption.
Published so it can be held to.
The published framework shows how the pieces fit together. Clinicians can use it. Partners can understand it. Patients can see what the service is built to deliver.
The standard turns an idea into a working care model.
Read the standard. Then see the patient experience.
The Anatomy of Recovery Care describes what the service is built to deliver.