HPCSA serious injury narrative test guideline.
Current South African Road Accident Fund (RAF) legislation requires a medical determination of the seriousness of injuries sustained in motor vehicle accidents to determine whether the claimant is entitled to a claim for general damages. Such medical assessments are submitted in the form of RAF 4 Serious Injury Assessment Reports. Contested claims for serious injury are referred to the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) Appeal Tribunals for final determination. The legislation prescribes 2 instruments, namely the American Medical Association (AMA) Guides (6th edition) and the Narrative Test for this purpose. Whereas the AMA Guides are published in a comprehensive book, and training courses are provided in their use, existing legislation does not provide any indication of the required structure, content or criteria of a Narrative Test report. This document is published by the HPCSA Appeal Tribunals as a guideline to the performance of the Narrative Test; what it is, reasons for applying it and who should compile it, as well as the required structure, content and criteria thereof. A Narrative Test Report should include relevant and meaningful comment in relation to each of the 6 sections described in the article.
Health Professions Council of South Africa Appeal Tribunals, Pretoria, South Africa. edeling@emlct.com.
H J
HJ
Edeling
N B
NB
Mabuya
P
P
Engelbrecht
K D
KD
Rosman
D A
DA
Birrell
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*