ODG - Features in order of appearance:

(See also sample page for actual display, or more detail on the new format and features).

Organized by ICD-9 Code 

• Completely compatible with the World Health Organization's 9th revision
• Approximately 10,000 diagnoses covered 

Return-To-Work Summary Guidelines 

• Estimated days away from work (based on national norms) for each condition in summary (Midrange, At-Risk)

Return-To-Work Best Practice Guidelines

• Estimated days out of work (based on national norms) for typical cases within each condition, identifying normative pathways based on method of treatment, job requirements and severity indicators

• Includes early return-to-work opportunities and co-morbidities 
• Proven indispensable to effective case management

Activity Modifications

• Condition-specific modifications for each level of job identified in the Best Practice Guidelines

• Allows for early return-to-work, given distinct limitations for prevention of re-injury

• Can be used to assist clinician in preparing employer’s RTW form, or compared to Job Analysis forms

General Description

•  Description of the injury or illness including symptoms and other common names

Integrated ICD-10 Coding

• Translated ICD-10 codes for every condition

Other Links (electronic versions only)

• Links to pre-screened treatment and diagnostic information for each condition, including color pictures with explanatory detail, and full text State and National treatment guidelines

Causality Likelihood

• Indicates the percentage of claims that are work-related for each condition

Medical Costs

• Average medical cost in dollars for each diagnosis, including number of cases

Procedure Codes

• Common procedures performed for each condition cross-referenced by CPT®-4 code (Web version only)

• Each code is identified by hyperlink in a CPT index, where benchmark costs are provided and rankings, where commonly performed in workers' compensation

Case Management Triage

• Priority indicators (Low Touch, Case Management, or Long Term Planning) for appropriate allocation of case management efforts

• Inflection point: flag date at which Low Touch claims should become Case Managed, if unresolved

Physical Therapy Guidelines

• Recommended frequency and duration of PT visits for relevant diagnoses

Chiropractic Guidelines

• Recommended frequency and duration of chiropractic visits for relevant diagnoses

Age Adjustment Factors

• Provides condition-specific multipliers for age adjusting disability guidelines

• Shows the At-Risk date pre-adjusted by multipliers

• Only provided where sufficient data/variance exist based on age

The back-up data follows, on which the above guidelines are based.  The data can be used to support your recommendations whenever necessary, as it is described as "the most direct form of evidence that can be offered in court" under the Federal Rules of Evidence.  The data can also be used for benchmarking.  The back-up data can also be overlooked entirely during daily claims management operations, because it has already been interpreted for you in the above features.

RTW Claims Data for Benchmarking

• Days away from work by decile (10 percent of claims back by 12th day, 20 percent by 15th day, etc.), including mean (average duration)

Bar Charts - LOD Data from CDC NCHS
(Length of Disability from Centers for Disease Control National Center for Health Statistics)

• Charts primarily non-occupational statistics on time away from work

• Include approximately 1.5 million cases
• Calculations are given for median, mean, mode, as well as range distribution
• Calculates incidence/prevalence data for total absence, allows identification of common conditions 

Bar Charts - DAW Data from OSHA
(Occupational Safety and Health Administration Days Away from Work)

• Provide statistics on work-related disabilities as reported to OSHA

• Include approximately 1.6 million occupational cases

• Calculations for median duration and range distribution, as well as benchmark indemnity costs

• Calculates incidence/prevalence data for occupational absence, allows identification of common conditions 

Bar Charts - Hospital Length of Stay from NHDS
(National Hospital Discharge Survey)

• Gives statistics on hospital length of stay as derived from actual hospital billing records

See sample page for actual display for low back pain.  Place your order here today.

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Copyright © 2007 Official Disability Guidelines
Last modified: February 23, 2005