This week we issued version 6.1 of our MDGuidelines.com online platform of return-to-work guidelines. The new release includes:
- Updated Content based on changing medical trends.
- Text-Only Version for use with mobile devices and by the visually impaired.
- Colorado State Guidelines.
MDGuidelines 6.1 has updated content in 179 monographs as well as updated RBRVS (Medicare fee data) and HCUP (hospital length of stay and cost) data . It also offers nine new topics and new tables to reflect treatment advances and responses to user requests.
For example, our return-to-work durations have been shortened for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction to reflect current medical trends.
James B. Talmage, M.D., chair of our Reed Group Medical Advisory Board, explains why patients recover more quickly from this injury: “Over the past five years, open reconstruction has been basically abandoned, and essentially, all isolated ACL reconstructions are now done arthroscopically. Also, there is more use of motion control bracing which helps to protect the new ligament.”
Trends such as these dramatically change the expectations that employees and employers should share, so that the employee can return more quickly to productivity. Without this kind of updated information, users would be attempting to navigate changed terrain with out-of-date maps, so we constantly strive to provide the most up-to-date, medically accurate information available.
Another feature of MDGuidelines version 6.1 is EasyAccess, which provides the same information as the fully graphic MDGuidelines, but primarily in text for faster loading with mobile devices (e.g. iPhones, Blackberrys) and devices used by the visually challenged.
We’ve also added to MDGuidelines version 6.1 the State of Colorado Treatment Guidelines, which are well-established evidence-based guidelines utilized in workers’ compensation injuries. Content from the Colorado Guidelines has increasingly been considered for adoption by other states legislating the use of guidelines for reimbursement of treatments in workers’ compensation cases.
Check out version 6.1 here. If you’d like a demonstration, please contact us.
Also, stay tuned for these coming enhancements:
- MDGuidelines, Spanish – the MDA in Spanish, available on the MDGuidelines web site
- Washington State Guidelines – a data driven, searchable version, indexed to medical codes
- New York State Guidelines – a data driven, searchable version, indexed to medical codes
- Online Tutorials – written by medical professionals to guide you through MDGuidelines and disability management.