Abstract

EDELING, H J et al. HPCSA Serious Injury Narrative Test guideline. SAMJ, S. Afr. med. j. [online]. 2013, vol.103, n.10, pp.763-766. ISSN 2078-5135.

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.

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