Patient Care
AAN Practice Guidelines
Current AAN clinical practice guidelines and related tools, including patient and physician summaries of selected guidelines. Additional tools and new guidelines added regularly
www.aan.com
Clinical Tool for Injection Anxiety
Patient Workbook and Counselor Manual for people with MS unable to self-inject their disease-modifying medications due to anxiety
Supporting MS-Related Disability Claims to Private Insurers: The Physician’s Role (.pdf)
This guide provides clinicians with a checklist of things to include in their supporting statement to document their MS patients’ claims for disability benefits. Click here for other manuals in this series including manuals written for people with MS, and for claims professionals in the disability insurance industry.
Health Insurance Appeal Letters: A Toolkit for Clinicians (.pdf)
New and expanded second edition!
The National MS Society developed this guide as a resource for clinicians and administrative staff in clinical practice settings. The purpose of this guide is to aid in the dialogue between MS clinicians and health plans when disputes over coverage arise. Information for your patients about their appeal rights, responsibilities and procedures is available in the Insurance and Money Matters section of this Web site.
Includes:
- Overview of the appeals process
- Template appeal letters on CD
- Citations and abstracts, plus National MS Society consensus documents, to support clinical recommendations
- Guide to additional resources and publications
"McDonald Criteria" for the Diagnosis of MS
The 2005 Revisions to the "McDonald Criteria" for the Diagnosis of MS were published in late 2005. Tools for implementing the diagnostic criteria-adapted from Polman et al. Diagnostic Criteria for Multiple Sclerosis: 2005 Revisions to the "McDonald" Criteria. Annals of Neurology (2005) 58: 840-846:
- Tip Sheet (.pdf)
- Pocket Card (.pdf) summarizing revised diagnostic criteria
(For hard copy of card, contact MD_info@nmss.org)
Differential Diagnosis of MS
An international task force convened by the National MS Society’s International Advisory Committee on Clinical Trials published a landmark paper to guide neurologists through the complex process of distinguishing multiple sclerosis from other disorders.
- David Miller, MD, FRCP (University College London), Chris Polman, MD, PhD (Free University Medical Centre, Amsterdam) and colleagues present these guidelines in Multiple Sclerosis 2008 Nov;14[9]:1157-74, inviting feedback and research to validate them. Because of its potential impact, the National MS Society provided funds to make this paper available to all at no charge.
- Read more about these guidelines.
Rehabilitation Assessment Measures in MS (.pdf)
Many of the tools commonly used in rehabilitation assessment of patients with MS
Rehabilitation Research HQ
Find tools and links related to rehabilitation research and practice, including information on professional journals and organizations, funding opportunities, and rehabilitation approaches used in MS.