... data sources. Best practice guidelines have been established for the completion of physical IMEs. However, similar mental and behavioral disorder (M&BD) standards are less common, and M&BD IMEs often do not follow a consistent process. This article offers guidance on applying and adapting...

... by an independent medical examiner who is not treating the patient or claimant, to answer questions posed by the party requesting the IME.” Evaluators must adhere to best practice standards and must know that these standards may change over time and must meet the needs of the relevant jurisdiction. IMEs take place...

... evaluations must have the appropriate policies, procedures, and security in place; resources are available from the AMA Guides series of publications. Each component of the virtual IME, including each data element, should be assessed to determine best practices and how to use virtual technologies successfully...

... assists in ensuring a best-practices approach to the evaluation. Most experienced examiners use questionnaires, pain drawings, and inventories as an adjunct to the interview, and the process must be planned carefully to ensure all relevant history and subjective information are obtained. All reports...

... published in the September–October 2017 issue of the Guides Newsletter. 1 Reference 1. Brigham CR , Direnfeld LK , Feinberg S , Kertay L , Talmage JB . Independent medical evaluation best practices . Guides Newsletter. September/October 2017 . ...

... on for fair and consistent impairment rating information and tools. The AMA Guides ® provide physicians with certainty that they are following the most current best practice, as well as play a key role in supporting fair and timely resolution of impairment-related claims, enabling patients to easily...

... and their representatives. When providing opinions, experts are well-served by understanding the audience as much as practical. The best advice for experts rendering opinions is to remain true to the questions posed and follow the scientific method. Many medical experts incorrectly assume...

... in the majority of patients. However, the long-term treatment regimen should be a structured process that incorporates several clinical practice concepts to bring the best therapeutic outcomes to these patients. Men suspected of having psychogenic ED should undergo psychological evaluation with an AASECT...

..., and examiners may deploy less commonly used rating techniques such as those employed for amputations, skin loss, causalgia and reflex sympathetic dystrophy, and vascular disorders. The examiner must understand the applicable rating methods used, estimate percentages via each, and decide which methods best...

... of needless disability . AMA Guides Newsletter . July/August 2011 : 1 – 11 . 13. Brigham C , Direnfeld LK , Feinberg S , et al . Independent medical evaluations: best practices . AMA Guides Newsletter . September/October 2017 : 3 – 18 . 14. Gross DP , Reneman...

.... A unified view should be based on science and best practices, incorporate the major contributing factors, take a balanced approach to causation, and outline evidence-based and cost-effective management interventions. These management principles need to be both parsimonious and operationalized in a way...

...’ compensation cases. Impairment should be evaluated using the most current and widely accepted standard. As medicine evolves, so does our understanding of best practices in impairment evaluation. In using impairment as a threshold for permanent disability benefits, it is imperative to distinguish between...

.../JBJS.J.01452 . 19. Hopewell S , Keene DJ , Marian IR , et al . Progressive exercise compared with best practice advice, with or without corticosteroid injection, for the treatment of patients with rotator cuff disorders (GRASP): a multicentre, pragmatic, 2 × 2 factorial...

... represent the functional effect of an impairment. Therefore, the AMA, ACOEM, APA, and the APA-affiliated Interdivisional Healthcare Committee have undertaken the project of identifying fPROMs that were constructed with the highest quality methodology and that best reflect function for impairment rating...

... and conclusions.” Their California study considered 200 consecutive low back pain patient disability rating reports. The authors picked the 42 best (most complete) reports. Multiple physicians reviewed each report and rated each individual's disability. An average of 14 physicians rated each case...

... of the current best evidence in making decisions about the care of the individual patient. It means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research.” 1 However, there are limitations to unmeasured acceptance of research as EBM, since...

... of determining impairment, the appropriate health regulatory agency in a given jurisdiction is the best-suited authority to determine the definition of doctor in regard to who uses the Guides to rate impairment in that jurisdiction. It must be emphasized, however, that even though the Guides is mainly...

..., should report similar results and reach similar conclusions” (5th ed, 17). This goal is no longer achieved in California. The AMA Guides are based on the consensus of hundreds of physicians and other stakeholders to assure that impairment ratings reflect current best practices and science. When...

... and disability. This is particularly the case when illness behavior takes the form of symptom magnification (exaggeration). As with illness behavior in general, symptom magnification is best understood as a clinical phenomenon that lies along a continuum from unconscious and unintentional (eg, somatic symptom...

... in the emergency setting: best motor response, best verbal response, and eye opening. A GCS of 9 or less qualifies the individual as a catastrophic impairment. The gradations of persistent vegetative state and severe disability were defined as: Persistent vegetative state . This describes patients who...