.... This outcome need not have been a foregone conclusion. Research has shown that, for adults, worklessness is harmful to both physical and mental health, as well as to marital, family, social, and economic well-being. Gaps in social fabric are creating job loss and work disability because none...

...: It is clear that PFOA is a different disease process than tibiofemoral osteoarthritis (TFOA). There is no doubt that PFR has a higher failure rate than TKR, but evidence suggests that outcomes and recovery may be better in the PFR group. This is complicated by subsets of those with PFOA faring better than...

...Les Kertay, PhD Behavioral health terminology is an area beset by imprecision that results from confusing claim determinations, unnecessary evaluations, and poor outcomes that result from inappropriate treatment. In medical evaluation reports, one notes references to depression, anxiety, and stress...

...Fabien Gagnon, MD, PsyD; Les Kertay, PhD Given the increase in psychiatric occupational disability claims over the past 20 years, better patient psychiatric assessment and management is critical. To minimize iatrogenic psychiatric disability and maximize positive outcomes, it is important...

... pain. For example, one meta-analysis found that compensation results in an increase in pain perception and a reduction in the ability to benefit from medical and psychological treatment. Other studies have found a correlation between the level of compensation and health outcomes (greater compensation...

...James B. Talmage, MD; Robert B. Snyder, MD Evidence shows that chronic opioid therapy is usually not beneficial; weaning patients off opioids many times results in less pain and better function, and opioid-induced hyperalgesia is real and frequent. Further evidence suggests that surgical outcomes...

... reviews of 1-year outcomes 3 and 20-year outcomes 4 have not identified coronal malalignment as a cause of chronic knee pain or the need for revision. However, most published studies consider “ideal” alignment on coronal full-length lower limb radiographs as a hip-knee-ankle angle between 3...

..., and therefore, we have more limited experience in understanding all of its outcomes. Thus, clinical, functional, and permanent impairment assessment is challenging. Symptoms including fatigue, dyspnea, and cognitive difficulties have been referred to as “post-acute COVID,” “long COVID,” or “long haulers...

..., for this reason, PFA was not a named procedure in Table 17-33. However, unicondylar knee replacements were performed with greater frequency than PFA during those years and are, therefore, listed in Table 17-33. Short-term outcomes of PFA have been published in case series, but long-term outcomes and randomized...

... of treatment are necessary before OUD is confirmed and the patient is at MMI. The AMA Guides is based on impairments of activities of daily living (ADL), so a patient's MMI should result in a happy outcome and no impairment, although the burden of treatment compliance may be a relevant consideration...

... (MRI), has not been found either to influence treatment recommendations or improve outcomes. Further, routine advanced imaging is not associated with improved outcomes and identifies many radiographic findings that correlate poorly with symptoms; imaging is recommended when severe or progressive...

..., perception, and experience and cannot be better explained by another physical or psychiatric illness. Within this system of evaluation, administrative and medical iatrogenicity are associated with unnecessary medical care and poor outcomes for individuals. In addition to determining industrial causality...

...Marcos Iglesias, MD Many physicians were not formally trained in the evaluation and management of disability and must understand the language of disability, how disability is evaluated, what to expect from a medical evaluation, and how to communicate effectively to achieve the best outcomes...

... outcomes. © 2016 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved. 2016 American Medical Association Repetitive illness, sometimes called repetitive injury or cumulative trauma but probably mislabeled as such since there was no singular traumatic event, claims come to the attention...

... should not find for both sides equally (ie, should not attempt to achieve parity in outcomes), particularly because any case sent for review has some feature that raised questions in the mind of an experienced observer. This experienced observer requires an impartial, expert physician advisor who can...

... of a complex set of interactions in which competing agendas may be played out. By engaging in effective communications with key stakeholders, the HCP can play a key role in ensuring that the most appropriate clinical outcomes occur. Despite the complexity of the underlying variables, the principles...

... outcome of medical conditions and how these differences can be appropriately addressed using the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment ( AMA Guides ), Sixth Edition. Sex differences are objective and are based on biochemical and biological factors; gender refers to cultural attitudes...

... of sexual dysfunction helps to optimize patient outcomes. In the case of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), individual or couples-based therapy with a sexual health therapist should be part of the consultation. If the biologic basis of the sexual health concern can be diagnosed by history, physical...

... of hernia formation in laborers. Abdominal hernias with palpable defects or protrusions usually are corrected with surgery, and the outcome typically warrants an impairment of 0%. In the AMA Guides, Sixth Edition, Section 6.6, Hernias, and Table 6-10, Criteria for Rating Permanent Impairment Due to Hernias...