Impairment bible | |
Guides to the evaluation of permanent impairment (5th edition). Linda Cocchiarella, Gunnar B J Andersson (editors). Chicago, ILL: American Medical Association Press, 2001 (xxii+613 pp.). ISBN 1 57947 085 8. |
The most visible changes in the 5th edition of the American Medical Association’s Guides to the evaluation of permanent impairment are size and price, with each more than doubled. If your need is for a reliable methodology for the quantification of human impairments, this is the book to buy. Those hoping for a scientifically valid, evidence-based guide to impairment assessment will remain disappointed, for, although this edition is up to date with references, impairment assessment is still an area where prevailing medical opinion exceeds available evidence. In keeping with its original purpose, this publication is primarily a tool for the quantification of impairments for legal purposes. It is intended to satisfy the needs of compensation systems, mainly in North America, but increasingly in other countries also, including Australia. At last count, the AMA Guides are utilised to some extent, in one edition or another, in about 10 Australian compensation Acts. For these jurisdictions, the AMA Guides are the bibles of the Independent Medical Examiner. This is not a guide for clinical assessment of impairment, nor should it be used as a basis for assessing work capacity. This edition represents a major revision. Despite its bulk it is more user-friendly than its predecessors. All chapters have been overhauled, with the addition of outlines and overviews; boldfacing of key terms; abundant references and examples; and key terms defined or explained. This accounts for much of the extra volume. There is greater consistency between chapters on each body part or system and, despite diverse authorship, there has clearly been a serious attempt to integrate the philosophy of assessment across the range of impairments and, wherever possible, to underpin it with current scientific thinking. Many chapters contain important alterations to the evaluation process or to the interpretation of data in relation to specific impairments. As a result, assessments under individual legislation will in the future require the examiner to specify which edition of the Guides was used in the evaluation. As some Acts in Australia have specified the 4th edition, examiners will be wise retain their old edition of the Guides! Alex Ganora
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Master the AMA Guides 5th edition | |
Master the AMA Guides 5th edition. American Medical Association 2001 (ix+400 pp.). ISBN: 1 57947 104 8. |
Master the AMA Guides Fifth, the new companion reference from the AMA, helps the user make the change to the new Guides Fifth with complete ease and confidence regardless of the role in the evaluation process and how Guides is used. It leads the user logically through the change using side-by-side comparisons of the Fifth edition with previous editions, from a thorough assessment of how the new edition will change the way physicians evaluate disability all the way through its implications for the legal, regulatory and reimbursement systems. Divided into two basic sections, Part 1 of Master the AMA Guides Fifth offers a comprehensive chapter-by-chapter comparison of the content changes between editions. Part 2 focuses on practical applications, such as records and reporting.
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And to accompany the new Guides fifth edition... | |
The guides casebook (2nd edition). American Medical Association 2002 (120 pp.). ISBN: 0-57947-264-8. |
Over 50 new and adapted case examples demonstrate the appropriate use of the Guides to the evaluation of permanent impairment, fifth edition. This second edition Casebook draws on the knowledge base of the earlier Guides books, but demonstrably distinguishes the differences found in the fifth edition. Entirely new content provides the basis for understanding new issues examiners encounter. Clinicians can evaluate these cases and compare their assessment to that of the experts, who discuss how they made their evaluations. The series of cases are presented in a consistent format:
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