Re: ACOEM adopts rigorous methodology for updates to its Occupational Medicine Pract

[Guest guest]

The timing is pretty 'coincidental' isn't it?

Four days after the WSJ article?

This has been quite a week.

Is there any formal contact within the ACOEM that people could send papers

to so they could be put 'on the record' as having

this time indeniably seen the information that they (many would say

arrogantly) disregarded the last time?

This is important!

On 1/13/07, tigerpaw2c <tigerpaw2c@...> wrote:

>

> Some of you may find this interesting.

>

> ACOEM adopts rigorous methodology for updates to its Occupational

> Medicine Practice Guidelines

>

> http://www.acoem.org/news.aspx?id=2528

>

> CHICAGO, January 12, 2007 – The American College of Occupational and

> Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) has adopted a new more meticulous

> strength-of-evidence rating methodology for the updates to its

> Occupational Medicine Practice Guidelines, 2nd Edition. The enhanced

> methodology incorporates the highest scientific standards for

> reviewing evidence-based literature, thus ensuring the most

> rigorous, reproducible, and transparent occupational health

> guidelines available. The State of California recently published

> intended modifications to its medical treatment utilization schedule

> regulations. The proposed revisions reaffirm that ACOEM's Guidelines

> are the foundation for the State's utilization schedule, and also

> propose adoption of ACOEM's new methodology.

>

> The new methodology features a number of improvements, including

> advances in: 1) criteria to grade scientific articles; 2)

> determining strength-of-evidence ratings for studies; 3) applying a

> rating of potential for bias; and 4) developing evidence-based

> recommendation categories. " The new methodology ensures that ACOEM's

> Guidelines are maintained at the highest achievable scientific

> standards for evidence-based literature, " said Tee L. Guidotti, MD,

> MPH, President of ACOEM. " Improving or restoring the health of

> workers with occupationally related illnesses or injuries is a

> fundamental principle of occupational and environmental medicine and

> ACOEM's new methodology ensures that our practice guidelines fulfill

> that mission. "

>

> S. Weiss, MD, MPH, Chair of the Guidelines Methodology

> Committee, stated that the changes were made " to provide greater

> consistency, clarity and transparency in the evidence-based medicine

> methodology. " He further noted that " the criteria to rate articles

> are purposefully more detailed than in other available guidelines

> and that by providing these explicit ratings and ultimately mapping

> them to the strength of the evidence, the entire process becomes

> more reproducible. " It also becomes possible for others to critique

> the process, analyses, and recommendations, thereby resulting in

> continual quality improvement.

>

> " The new methodology allows users to more readily determine what was

> done, why it was done, and how it was done, " said M.

> Turkelson, PhD, who represented the American Association of

> Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) as a member of the Methodology

> Committee. " As a result, all interested parties should have much

> more confidence in the recommendations that emanate from these

> guidelines, " he stated.

>

> ACOEM created the Guidelines to improve the efficiency and

> specificity of medical diagnosis of workplace-related injuries and

> diseases, enhance the effectiveness of treatment, and help

> occupational and environmental physicians manage growing caseloads.

> Currently there are not any guidelines for the care of workers

> produced in the United States that are both as rigorous and

> multidisciplinary in scope as are the ACOEM Guidelines.

>

> The Guidelines were first published in 1997 and revised in 2004.

> They are presently undergoing a three-year rotating update. The

> first update will deal with elbow complaints and is scheduled for

> publication later this month. Updates to the spine and hip chapters

> are scheduled for mid and late 2007 respectively.

>

> The Occupational Medicine Practice Guidelines: Evaluation and

> Management of Common Health Problems and Functional Recovery in

> Workers, 2nd Edition, is published by ACOEM. To inquire about the

> electronic version or order a print copy of the Guidelines, call

> ACOEM at 847/818-1800, or visit www.acoem.org. The Guidelines are

> $175 for ACOEM members; $199 for non-members.

>

> # # # #

>

> Members of the Media: For more information, call nne Dreger at

> 847/818-1800, ext. 368, or Darleene Shah, ext. 380.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

well, it is interesting, but what is thier term of 'rigorous'? I

think with the mold issue, they had better do something now. sence

mycotoxin exposure is poison, I think that at the least, they should

set it up to get all of us proper medical diagnoses and treatment,

what ever it takes. we have been poisoned and deserve immedite action

by our goverment just like we would if it happened because of

chemical warfare. can't say I trust the ACOEM at this point.

>

> Some of you may find this interesting.

>

> ACOEM adopts rigorous methodology for updates to its Occupational

> Medicine Practice Guidelines

>

> http://www.acoem.org/news.aspx?id=2528

>

> CHICAGO, January 12, 2007 – The American College of Occupational

and

> Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) has adopted a new more meticulous

> strength-of-evidence rating methodology for the updates to its

> Occupational Medicine Practice Guidelines, 2nd Edition. The

enhanced

> methodology incorporates the highest scientific standards for

> reviewing evidence-based literature, thus ensuring the most

> rigorous, reproducible, and transparent occupational health

> guidelines available. The State of California recently published

> intended modifications to its medical treatment utilization

schedule

> regulations. The proposed revisions reaffirm that ACOEM's

Guidelines

> are the foundation for the State's utilization schedule, and also

> propose adoption of ACOEM's new methodology.

>

> The new methodology features a number of improvements, including

> advances in: 1) criteria to grade scientific articles; 2)

> determining strength-of-evidence ratings for studies; 3) applying a

> rating of potential for bias; and 4) developing evidence-based

> recommendation categories. " The new methodology ensures that

ACOEM's

> Guidelines are maintained at the highest achievable scientific

> standards for evidence-based literature, " said Tee L. Guidotti, MD,

> MPH, President of ACOEM. " Improving or restoring the health of

> workers with occupationally related illnesses or injuries is a

> fundamental principle of occupational and environmental medicine

and

> ACOEM's new methodology ensures that our practice guidelines

fulfill

> that mission. "

>

> S. Weiss, MD, MPH, Chair of the Guidelines Methodology

> Committee, stated that the changes were made " to provide greater

> consistency, clarity and transparency in the evidence-based

medicine

> methodology. " He further noted that " the criteria to rate articles

> are purposefully more detailed than in other available guidelines

> and that by providing these explicit ratings and ultimately mapping

> them to the strength of the evidence, the entire process becomes

> more reproducible. " It also becomes possible for others to critique

> the process, analyses, and recommendations, thereby resulting in

> continual quality improvement.

>

> " The new methodology allows users to more readily determine what

was

> done, why it was done, and how it was done, " said M.

> Turkelson, PhD, who represented the American Association of

> Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) as a member of the Methodology

> Committee. " As a result, all interested parties should have much

> more confidence in the recommendations that emanate from these

> guidelines, " he stated.

>

> ACOEM created the Guidelines to improve the efficiency and

> specificity of medical diagnosis of workplace-related injuries and

> diseases, enhance the effectiveness of treatment, and help

> occupational and environmental physicians manage growing caseloads.

> Currently there are not any guidelines for the care of workers

> produced in the United States that are both as rigorous and

> multidisciplinary in scope as are the ACOEM Guidelines.

>

> The Guidelines were first published in 1997 and revised in 2004.

> They are presently undergoing a three-year rotating update. The

> first update will deal with elbow complaints and is scheduled for

> publication later this month. Updates to the spine and hip chapters

> are scheduled for mid and late 2007 respectively.

>

> The Occupational Medicine Practice Guidelines: Evaluation and

> Management of Common Health Problems and Functional Recovery in

> Workers, 2nd Edition, is published by ACOEM. To inquire about the

> electronic version or order a print copy of the Guidelines, call

> ACOEM at 847/818-1800, or visit www.acoem.org. The Guidelines are

> $175 for ACOEM members; $199 for non-members.

>

> # # # #

>

> Members of the Media: For more information, call nne Dreger at

> 847/818-1800, ext. 368, or Darleene Shah, ext. 380.

>