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ASSESSMENT OF PAIN IN THE AMA6 GUIDES
Author(s) -
Atkinson R. L.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
anz journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.426
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 1445-1433
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-2197.2009.04926_2.x
Subject(s) - medicine , migraine , trigeminal neuralgia , physical therapy , rating scale , complaint , pain syndrome , inter rater reliability , physical medicine and rehabilitation , psychiatry , anesthesia , psychology , developmental psychology , political science , law
Pain related impairment has been a divisive issue for the editors of the AMA Guides. While the First Edition was published in 1971, it was not until the Fourth Edition (1993) that pain was included. Modifications in the Fifth Edition (2000), Chapter 18, were confusing. The inclusion of the pain chapter is at odds with the editorial principles, based on evidence‐based medicine, validation and interrater physician reliability. The move towards disability in the Sixth Edition ensures the inclusion of Chapter 3 which is now simplified. In the absence of an objective anatomically based impairment assessed under Chapters 4 to 17, the subjective complaint of pain is allocated an impairment to a maximum of 3%. This is based on the written responses to the validated pain disability rating scale. Special pain rating impairments are allocated for migraine, trigeminal neuralgia, chronic regional pain syndrome and spinal cord injury.