Occupational chronic injury: educational guidelines to use with patients and industry

Educational guidelines are offered to help clinicians explain the fundamental characteristics of chronic injury to companies and workers. The temporal profile of development is used to distinguish chronic injuries from accidents, relate them to conditioning, explain symptom expression behaviorally, and suggest new methods of case management and clinic and worksite collaboration. Adopting this model helps physicians study chronic injury patterns across patients and diagnoses. Designing outcomes measures is contingent on insurance companies modifying their claims questions and forms to accommodate chronic injury.