The New York State Workers' Compensation Board has announced that new medical guidelines, including new Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) guidelines, are scheduled to be effective starting May 2, 2022. Traumatic Brain Injuries aren't just for football players, and are a real concern for all medical providers, including those treating workers compensation patients.
The new guidelines are 672 pages long, with 44 pages of information about TBI and guidelines for diagnosing and treating, and returning to work, and more than 550 pages of evidence tables. The guidelines for diagnosing and treating TBI are extensive and highly patient-specific. Each instance of TBI-related injury and the related therapies should be monitored closely by insurers to ensure that the strict treatment guidelines outlined are followed.
Therapy and medication recommendations vary in great detail contingent on the individual injury, the severity, and the related complications, so the guidelines are very specific to each patient. The diagnosis of TBI along with the 550 pages of evidence tables help to confirm the condition and severity of the TBI.
These new guidelines are specifically important for workers' compensation insurers who should closely monitor all TBI-related therapies to ensure that strict guidelines are followed for treatment. According to the Guidelines, the relevant therapies should not last more than 12 weeks without documented improvement. In rare circumstances, there may be cause to continue treatment past 12 weeks. After 12 weeks, Home Based Therapies are the preferable method of continued care.
The New York State Workers' Compensation Board is offering training for all sections of the Medical Treatment Guidelines. You can find the training schedule here.
According to the New York State Department of Health, nearly 400 incidents of TBI occur daily in New York State, resulting in emergency room treatment or hospitalization. Each year this type of injury results in more than 2,000 deaths, 19,000 hospitalizations, and over 112,000 emergency department visits among New York State residents. The leading causes of TBI are falls and motor vehicle crashes, many of which can potentially be work-related.