Robert Rondinelli

• Managing Director at UnityPoint Health

Physicians, regardless of their specialty, from time to time may face a request from their patients to fill out a form or write a letter certifying an impairment or disability and resulting in some benefits including absence from work. However, the practice of impairment and disability assessment is rarely, if ever, a part of their formal medical o...

Physicians must account for the effects of multiple impairments using a summary value. Sometimes, when dealing with multiple impairments in a single case, the evaluating physician may be confused about whether specific impairments are added or combined, particularly during the assessment of hand or limb injuries. Combining is accomplished by using...

The AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, (AMA Guides), Sixth Edition, is the recognized international standard for assessing impairment. The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) conducted a comparative study to examine the effects on impairment ratings in three states that have switched from the fifth to the sixth edit...

Objective: U.S. Disability Systems share a common procedural approach to the determination of disability for purposes of compensation. The structural and anatomical consequences of the injury or disease are defined and measured according to medical impairment, which is used to estimate the individual's loss in terms of their capacity to perform ac...

The AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), Sixth Edition, was published in December 2007 and is the result of efforts to enhance the relevance of impairment ratings, improve internal consistency, promote precision, and simplify the rating process. The revision process was designed to address shortcomings and issues in pr...

This "how-to" guide for the examination of impairment and disability resulting from low back pain examines Workers' Compensation, Social Security, The Americans with Disabilities Act, and the American Medical Association's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. The medicolegal interface is addressed, and specific recommendations are made...

We review in this article the most recent edition of the American Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides) from a physiatric perspective. Important general changes within the framework from the 4th to the 5th edition are highlighted. Those sections of the AMA Guides most often consulted by physiatrists are e...

This article offers the reader a "bullet" overview of the principal systems of disability determination. The reader is referred to other sources for more in-depth coverage and a detailed historical background and overview of these systems.

The authors hope that this article promotes greater understanding of the methodology available for measuring and recording joint ROM and fosters movement towards the eventual adoption of a single integrated goniometric system for the evaluation and recording of musculoskeletal impairment and disability. Towards this end, the authors have focused on...

An increasing number of patients are being seen by physicians for impairment and disability of the pulmonary system, partially because of the increasing prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and increased awareness of industrial and environmental hazards to the respiratory system. As legislative efforts and social expectations towards...

To determine whether simulation of significant impairment of the hand will have a predictable impact on degree of functional loss at the wrist and hand. Single subject repeat measures using before-after trial comparisons and healthy volunteer subjects. Occupational therapy section of a large academic medical center. Twenty adult volunteer student s...

A biomechanical analysis was performed to determine if a minor limb length discrepancy alters lower extremity joint mechanics significantly and in a manner that could contribute to the development of joint abnormalities. Ten healthy subjects with equal limb lengths were recruited. Gait analysis was performed for both left and right sides to determi...

A biomechanical analysis was performed to determine if a minor limb length discrepancy alters lower extremity joint mechanics significantly and in a manner that could contribute to the development of joint abnormalities. Ten healthy subjects with equal limb lengths were recruited. Gait analysis was performed for both left and right sides to determi...

This self-directed learning module is part of the chapter on industrial rehabilitation medicine in the Self-Directed Physiatric Education Program for practitioners and trainees in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Industrial rehabilitation medicine encompasses injuries and illnesses that occur in the workplace and are covered under workers' com...

This self-directed learning module highlights new advances in this topic area. It is part of the chapter on industrial rehabilitation medicine in the Self-Directed Physiatric Education Program for practitioners and trainees in physical medicine and rehabilitation. The evaluation and management of patients presenting with low back pain are skills th...

This self-directed learning module highlights new advances in this topic area. It is part of the chapter on industrial rehabilitation medicine in the Self-Directed Physiatric Education Program for practitioners and trainees in physical medicine and rehabilitation. This section contains three case studies discussing nerve, joint, and soft tissue pat...

This self-directed learning module provides a practical overview of the general rehabilitative management of work disability. It is the fourth of four articles on the topic of industrial rehabilitation medicine for the Self-Directed Physiatric Education Program for practitioners and trainees in physical medicine and rehabilitation. This section inc...

This self-directed learning module highlights new advances in this topic area. It is part of the chapter on industrial rehabilitation medicine in the Self-Directed Physiatric Education Program for practitioners and trainees in physical medicine and rehabilitation. This section contains three case studies discussing nerve, joint, and soft tissue pat...

Minor limb length anomalies of as much as half an inch are common in the general population. These have been ostensibly linked to back pain and osteoarthritis of the hip and knee; however, clinical studies have failed to validate causal association between these conditions. In this study a biomechanical simulation was performed to determine if a mi...

A survey was conducted to construct a profile of structured resident research training and experience in physiatric residency training programs. Resident research activity was quantified, and factors that may influence the level of resident research activity were examined. Questionnaires were sent to all 72 residency training program directors, of...

Discriminant function analysis can be useful when applied to multiple nerve conduction parameters for diabetic and nondiabetic subjects to reveal the essential dimension along which key neuropathic differences occur between these groups. In this study, 19 electrophysiologic parameters were used in a stepwise discriminant function analysis to reveal...

The purpose of this study was to determine the magnitude and clinical significance of surface measurement error in the determination of lumbar spinal flexion. Intrarater, inter-rater and intermethod reliability estimates were obtained using single inclinometry, double inclinometry and back range-of-motion inclinometry methods. Eight healthy subject...

Traditional univariate comparisons of nerve conduction data against standard norms may produce conflicting estimates of the presence or absence of a diabetic neuropathy, depending upon the data obtained and the specific nerves sampled. Alternatively, a multivariate analytic approach, using discriminant functions, provides a useful single measure of...