Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie
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Rehabilitation increasingly focuses on patients' chronic diseases and a restricted efficiency in job and everyday life. In Germany, the specialized rehabilitation system has been adapted to this development and produced particular successful, holistic, and interdisciplinary concepts which involve medical, occupational, and social benefits. Medical rehabilitation as a field discipline and treatment method has been advanced continuously and can not be compared with acute or curative care. ⋯ On the one hand, it is to be expected that benefits for pensions and care will rise in the medium term. On the other hand, economy in rehabilitation will produce additional expenses in other health care sectors without being more effective. Since the need for rehabilitation benefits will further increase due to demographic development, new priorities should be set in favor of patients with chronic diseases.