Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 40 - LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Part I - Workers' Compensation Administration
Subpart 2 - Medical Guidelines
Chapter 21 - Pain Medical Treatment Guidelines
Subchapter A - Chronic Pain Disorder Medical Treatment Guidelines
Section I-2103 - General Guideline Principles

1. Application of Guidelines. The OWCA provides procedures to implement medical treatment guidelines and to foster communication to resolve disputes among the provider, payer, and patient through the Workers Compensation Act.

2. Education. Education of the patient and family, as well as the employer, insurer, policy makers and the community should be the primary emphasis in the treatment of chronic pain and disability. Currently, practitioners often think of education last, after medications, manual therapy, and surgery. Practitioners must implement strategies to educate patients, employers, insurance systems, policy makers, and the community as a whole. An education-based paradigm should always start with inexpensive communication providing reassuring and evidence-based information to the patient. More in-depth education is currently a component of treatment regimens which employing functional, restorative, preventive and rehabilitative programs. No treatment plan is complete without addressing issues of individual and/or group patient education as a means of facilitating self-management of symptoms and prevention. Facilitation through language interpretation, when necessary, is a priority and part of the medical care treatment protocol.

3. Informed Decision Making. Providers should implement informed decision making as a crucial element of a successful treatment plan. Patients, with the assistance of their health care practitioner, should identify their personal and professional functional goals of treatment at the first visit when a chronic pain condition allows functional improvement. Progress towards the individuals identified functional goals should be addressed by all members of the health care team at subsequent visits and throughout the established treatment plan when a chronic pain condition allows attainment of functional goals. Injured workers may not reach functional goals to return to work and therefore they will require a significantly different plan. Nurse case managers, physical therapists, and other members of the health care team play an integral role in informed decision-making and achievement of functional goals. Patient education and informed decision-making should facilitate self-management of symptoms and prevention of further injury.

4. Treatment Parameter Duration. Time frames for specific interventions commence once treatments have been initiated, not on the date of injury. Obviously, duration will be impacted by patient adherence, as well as availability of services. Clinical judgment may substantiate the need to accelerate or decelerate the time frames discussed in this document. Such deviation shall be in accordance with R.S. 23:1203.1.

5. Active Interventions. Active interventions emphasizing patient responsibility, such as therapeutic exercise and/or functional treatment, are generally emphasized over passive modalities, especially as treatment progresses. Generally, passive interventions are viewed as a means to facilitate progress in an active rehabilitation program with concomitant attainment of objective functional gains when chronic pain conditions allow attainment of functional goals because some chronic pain patients require active interventions as well maintenance procedures and medications.

6. Active Therapeutic Exercise Program. Exercise program goals should incorporate patient strength, endurance, flexibility, coordination, and education. This includes functional application in vocational or community settings.

7. Positive Patient Response. Positive results are defined primarily as functional gains that can be objectively measured.

8. Re-Evaluation of Treatment Every Three to Four Weeks. If a given treatment or modality is not producing positive results within three to four weeks or within the time to produce effect in the non-chronic pain guidelines, the physical therapist must consult with the treating physician for consideration for a referral to a pain specialist or surgeon or other appropriate specialist for other treatment options. Reconsideration of diagnosis should also occur in the event of poor response to a seemingly rational intervention.

9. Surgical Interventions. Surgery should be contemplated within the context of expected functional outcome and not purely for the purpose of pain relief. The concept of "cure" with respect to surgical treatment by itself is generally a misnomer. All operative interventions must be based upon positive correlation of clinical findings, clinical course, and diagnostic tests. A comprehensive assimilation of these factors must lead to a specific diagnosis with positive identification of pathologic conditions.

10. Pharmacy-Louisiana Law and Regulation. All prescribing will be done in accordance with the laws of the state of Louisiana as they pertain respectively to each individual licensee, including, but not limited to: Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners regulations governing medications used in the treatment of non-cancer-related chronic or intractable pain; Louisiana Board of Pharmacy Prescription Monitoring Program; Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals licensing and certification standards for pain management clinics; other laws and regulations affecting the prescribing and dispensing of medications in the state of Louisiana.

11. Six Month-Time Frame. Injuries resulting in temporary total disability require maintenance treatment and may not attain return to work in six months.

12. Return to Work. Return-to-work is therapeutic, assuming the work is not likely to aggravate the basic problem or increase long-term pain. An injured workers return-to-work status shall not be the sole cause to deny reasonable and medically necessary treatment under these guidelines. Two good practices are: early contact with injured workers and provide modified work positions for short-term injuries. The practitioner may provide specific physical limitations and the patient should never be released to non-specific and vague descriptions such as "sedentary" or "light duty." The following physical limitations should be considered and modified as recommended: lifting, pushing, pulling, crouching, walking, using stairs, bending at the waist, awkward and/or sustained postures, tolerance for sitting or standing, hot and cold environments, data entry and other repetitive motion tasks, sustained grip, tool usage and vibration factors. Even if there is residual chronic pain, return-to-work is not necessarily contraindicated. The practitioner should understand all of the physical demands of the patients job position before returning the patient to full duty and should request clarification of the patients job duties. Clarification should be obtained from the employer or, if necessary, from including, but not limited to, occupational health nurse, physical therapist, occupational therapist, vocational rehabilitation specialist, or an industrial hygienist, chiropractor or another professional. American Medical Association clarifies "disability" as "activity limitations and/or participation restrictions in an individual with a health condition, disorder or disease" versus "impairment" as "a significant deviation, loss, or loss of use of any body structure or body function in an individual with a health condition, disorder or disease".

13. Delayed Recovery. Within the discretion of the treating physician, strongly consider a psychological evaluation, if not previously provided, as well as initiating interdisciplinary rehabilitation treatment and vocational goal setting, for those patients who are failing to make expected progress 6 to 12 weeks after initiation of treatment of an injury. The OWCA recognizes that 3 to 10 percent of all industrially injured patients will not recover within the timelines outlined in this document despite optimal care. Such individuals may require treatments beyond the limits discussed within this document, but such treatment requires clear documentation by the authorized treating practitioner focusing on objective functional gains afforded by further treatment and impact upon prognosis.

14. Guideline Recommendations and Inclusion of Medical Evidence. All recommendations are based on available evidence and/or consensus judgment. It is generally recognized that early reports of a positive treatment effect are frequently weakened or overturned by subsequent research. Per R.S. 1203.1, when interpreting medical evidence statements in the guideline, the following apply to the strength of recommendation.

15. Treatment of Pre-Existing Conditions The conditions that preexisted the work injury/disease will need to be managed under two circumstances: