AADEP provides educational courses for medical professionals, the insurance industry, the legal field, and governmental organizations. AADEP courses deal with such issues as impairment ratings based on the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, return to work evaluations, which place the injured person in a category based on the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), and determination of maximum medical improvement (MMI).

The quality assurance organization that established standards of competency for physicians performing independent medical and disability examinations

Evaluation process under Social Security to provide physicians and other health professionals with an understanding of the kinds of information a health professional can furnish to help ensure sound and prompt decisions on disability claims.

Directory of Internet resources on disability subjects and products. These pages were created and are maintained solely by Jim Lubin, who is a C2 quadriplegic, completely paralyzed from the neck down and dependent on a ventilator to breathe, using an keyboard/mouse emulator with a sip and puff switch to type morse codes. This site has been online since 1994.

Disability Information and Resource Centre (DIRC), the home of disability information in South Australia. When you need information on disability visit EnableNet the home of disability information on the Net

The Disability Management Institute specializes in providing professional, personalized WCB, Short Term Disability, Weekly Indemnity and Long Term Disability claims management, early intervention and disability prevention services.

EnableNet is being developed as a one stop site for information on disability and a meeting place for people interested in disability issues. (South Australia)

When treating an injured worker, the clinician must be aware of factors that can affect the duration and outcome of an injury. Addressing these factors results in more effective treatment and a more favorable outcome. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders occur when there is a mismatch between the physical requirements of the job and the physical capacity of the human body. More than 100 different injuries can result from repetitive motions that produce wear and tear on the body. Specific risk factors associated with work-related musculoskeletal disorders include repetitive motion, heavy lifting, forceful exertion, contact stress, vibration, awkward posture, and rapid hand and wrist movement.
This article provides information about the specific questions to ask when first meeting an injured worker and during the continued follow-up. In addition, several musculoskeletal diagnostic categories that require special attention in an industrial setting are addressed.
Synonyms and related keywords: occupational rehabilitation, ergonomics, work-related musculoskeletal disorders, repetitive motion disorders, low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, Initial Management of Work-related Injury, Prevention of Work-related Musculoskeletal Injuries, Complicating Factors That Delay Recovery, Work-related Myofascial Pain Syndrome, Work-related Low Back Pain, Repetitive Motion (Cumulative Trauma) Disorders
Kedlaya & Kim 2007

According to the fifth edition of the Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, published by the American Medical Association (AMA Guides), impairment is defined as “an alteration of an individual's health status; a deviation from normal in a body part or organ system and its functioning.” The World Health Organization (WHO) defines impairment as “any loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological or anatomical structure or function.”
According to the fifth edition of the AMA Guides, disability is defined as “an alteration of an individual's capacity to meet personal, social, or occupational demands because of an impairment.” The WHO defines disability as an activity limitation that creates a difficulty in the performance, accomplishment, or completion of an activity in the manner or within the range consider normal for a human being. Difficulty encompasses all of the ways in which the performance of the activity may be affected.
Synonyms and related keywords: impairment rating, disability determination, disability ratings, IME, SSI, MMI, permanent and stationary, motivation, sincerity of effort, performance APGAR
Edward B Holmes, MD, MPH 2007

The impairment rating is an estimate of the severity of human impairment based on acceptable medical standards. Various reference books, including the AMA Guides, provide a standard method of analysis to evaluate, report on, and communicate information about impairments to any human organ system. According to the AMA Guides, impairment is an alteration of an individual's health status that has been assessed by medical means. Impairment is used to describe a static or stable condition that has had sufficient time to allow optimal tissue repair and that is unlikely to change, despite further medical or surgical therapy. The Florida Impairment Schedule defines impairment as anatomic or functional abnormality or loss after maximal medical improvement (MMI) has been achieved.
Synonyms and related keywords: impairment rating, impairment evaluation, permanent impairment rating, PIR, permanent partial impairment, permanent partial impairment evaluation, permanent partial impairment rating, disability evaluation, disability rating, permanent partial disability evaluation, permanent disability rating, permanent disability evaluation, maximum medical improvement rating, functional capacity evaluation, FCE
Hunter, Sims & May 2006

Decisions on disability pensions are based, among others, on medical reports. The way these medical assessments are performed is largely unclear. The aim of the study was to determine which grounds are used by social insurance physicians (SIPs) in these assessments and to determine if the identification of these grounds can help improve the quality of assessments in social insurance practice. The article describes a focus group study with SIPs in four different countries.
Wel de Boer , P Donceel , S Brage , M Rus and Jhbm Willems BMC Public Health 2008, 8:335 Full text available

Health Education using Low-cost Publications for developing countries
HELP's current publications in rehabilitation.
All of our titles are currently free of charge in downloadable PDF format. A number of publications are also printed and available at cost when used in developing countries and affordably priced for use elsewhere in the world.

Major teaching resource on rehabilitation subjects. Requires registration.

Workers' compensation is a no-fault system that protects employers and workers against the result of work injuries. The system has brought stability to the Saskatchewan workplace for over 70 years, providing coverage at a competitive cost and protecting workers and employers against the risks and uncertainties of litigation.

United Kingdom national organisation of spinal cord injured people. The Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) was set up in 1974 in order to support people with SCI. The founders themselves had SCI and, to this day, SIA is run by a board of trustees who live with spinal cord injury.