Sixth Edition Promises Change in AMA Guides

Two key drafters of the Sixth Edition of the American Medical Association (AMA) Guides for the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment say they represent a major change over the past five editions and may change the way some states view medical assessments in workers’ compensation cases. The Sixth Edition, which updates the AMA Guides for the first time since 2001, are crafted on a European model that gauges a patient’s ability to function with an impairment, said Dr. James Talmage, an occupational and environment specialist from Cookeville, Tenn. Talmage is writi...