@article{ref1,
title="Effects of the New York State Workers Compensation Board Medical Treatment Guidelines on return to work",
journal="Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine",
year="2018",
author="Demian, Cristina and Barron, Bruce and Almudevar, Anthony",
volume="60",
number="7",
pages="617-621",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: Examine the association between New York State Workers' Compensation Medical Treatment Guidelines (Guidelines) adherence and return-to-work after occupational low back injuries. Assess adherence to Guidelines by examining diagnostic and treatment utilization. <br><br>METHOD: Retrospective chart review of cases. Outcomes of interest were lost time duration and diagnostic/treatment utilization rates. Time to event analyses performed using Kaplan Meier plots and Cox proportional hazard model. <br><br>RESULTS: Care received after implementation of Guidelines resulted in decreased lost time. Treatment rates were consistent, while diagnostic imaging use was inconsistent with Guidelines recommendations. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Guidelines use positively influenced return-to-work after acute occupational low back injuries. Inconsistencies in following Guidelines were observed for diagnostic tests, having a potential paradoxical effect on lost time. Further studies are necessary to test for additional hypotheses.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1076-2752",
doi="10.1097/JOM.0000000000001265",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000001265"
}