On March 19, 2014, the Board of Directors approved amendments to the PDES in the Rehabilitation Services & Claims Manual, Volume II to:

• consolidate and clarify guidance on assessing permanent disability awards under the loss of function method; and
• set out an annual process for review as a part of the Policy, Regulation and Research Division's (PRRD) annual workplan consultation process.

The policy amendments came into effect on January 1, 2015.

NOTE: On October 23, 2014, the Board of Directors approved additional, minor amendments to the above revised PDES. These additional amendments also came into effect on January 1, 2015. Further information and the complete resolution can be viewed here.

During consultation, stakeholders highlighted concerns with the reliability and validity of using Range of Motion (ROM) as a measurement tool for assessing functional capacity in the spine and other joints. Stakeholders recommended that other diagnostic approaches be considered instead of the ROM method.

The PRRD's discussion paper addressed other approaches to assessing disability and highlighted that there is an ongoing conflict in the literature regarding which method is most valid and reliable.

In response to stakeholder concerns, a new policy project reviewing the effectiveness of the ROM method, specifically for disabilities of the spine was added to the PRRD's 2014 - 2016 Compensation, Occupational Disease, and Assessments Workplan.