What's New
Browse the page to learn about our latest innovations.
If you have any questions or feedback, contact your ODG account manager or the ODG Helpdesk at odghelp@mcg.com.
March 29, 2024
Medical treatment guidelines
ODG will release a quarterly medical treatment guideline update on Friday, March 29, 2024. This contains updates to the following content:
New guidelines
- Biofeedback
- Cervical Laminectomy
- Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)
- Manipulation Under Anesthesia
Revised guidelines in the following sections
- Surgery for ankle/foot
- Surgery for eye
- Surgery for forearm/wrist hand
- Surgery for knee/leg
- Spinal Surgery
- Diagnostic testing for EEG
- Nerve ablation for cervical and lumbar spine
- Non-oral steroids
Changes in recommendation
- Biofeedback - not recommended (NR) to conditionally recommended (CR)
- Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) – NR to CR
- Coccygectomy - recommended (R) to CR
- Lumbar Laminectomy - R to CR)
The ODG application update will be available by the end of day March 29, 2024.
January 12, 2024
Metrics update
ODG will release its yearly metrics update on Friday, January 12, 2024. This contains updates to the following content:
- Return-to-work benchmarks in all ODG solutions
- TAO data in ODG by MCG and ODG for Auto Injury
- The ODG Risk Assessment Scores and LTD Predictor
ODG return-to-work data is used to help optimize timely return-to-work and accurate reporting. These metrics are updated annually and can be filtered by diagnosis and procedure, including ICD-9, ICD-10, and CPT with claims-specific modeling using comorbidities, demographics, and confounding factors. The update of the return-to-work data triggers an automatic update of the related ODG Risk Assessment Scores.
ODG is also adding four new medical topics and one new surgical topic:
- Acoustic Nerve Disorders
- Eating Disorders
- Upper Extremity Nerve Injury
- Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer
- Wrist Arthroscopy
The ODG application update will be available by the end of the day on January 12, 2024.
Independent training program
In our ongoing efforts to assist with the customers’ experience in ODG by MCG, the Independent Training Program model within ODG was updated in January 2024. This will include a series of self-paced training videos followed by knowledge checks that can be reviewed at any time.
The ODG for Workers' Comp, ODG for Disability, and ODG for Auto Injury will each have their own unique independent training program.
ODG will continue to also have job-aids within the platform providing an outline of each solution, including core elements and ways to utilize them on the help page.
This program is best if any technology issue prevents a webinar, where it would be difficult to gather users, when the entire staff is remote, and/or when the users are already proficient with ODG and just need a refresher.
December 1, 2023
In our ongoing efforts to maintain the highest quality patient care and user experience in ODG by MCG, we consistently review the evidence-based treatment guidelines accordingly. As of December 1, 2023, the ODG treatment guideline release will include updated CT, MRI, X-ray Imaging, and Viral Pandemic Management (COVID-19) for Infectious Diseases guidelines.
A summary of the clinical changes for this release are:
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Minor Updates:
- CT Scan Cervical Spine
- CT Scan Thorax, Low Dose, Lung Cancer Screening
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New Guidelines:
- CT Scan Thoracic Spine
- MRI Thoracic Spine
- X-ray Thoracic Spine
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A repeat imaging section has been added to the criteria section of the diagnostic imaging guidelines.
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Several updates have been made to the Viral Pandemic Management (COVID-19) for Infectious Diseases including reorganization of content from one Emerging Treatment section to two sections for recommended and not recommended treatments.
August 18, 2023
In our ongoing efforts to maintain the highest quality patient care and user experience, we consistently review the evidence-based literature and update treatment guidelines accordingly. The August 2023 ODG treatment guideline release is comprised primarily of bone scan, ultrasound, and epidural corticosteroid injection guidelines. These include the following new or revised guidelines:
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As part of our continuous improvement, the editorial staff has expanded the content to fully address the evidence-based criteria for the above treatment guidelines within the scope of workers’ compensation, disability, and auto injury. The ODG criteria format and structure have also been standardized to allow users to have a more consistent experience.
ODG criteria identify when a procedure, treatment, diagnostic test, device, or medication may be indicated. If none of the criteria apply, the appropriateness of the medical resource may be questioned (though every medical situation must be considered individually; there may be reasons to utilize a resource even if the criteria do not apply).
April 21, 2023
This release is comprised of updated CT, MRI, and X-ray imaging guidelines. These include the following new or revised guidelines:
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As part of our continuous improvement, the editorial staff has expanded the content to fully address the evidence-based criteria for imaging within the scope of workers’ compensation and auto injury. The ODG criteria format and structure has also been standardized to allow users to have a more consistent experience.
ODG Criteria identifies when a procedure, treatment, diagnostic test, device, or medication may be indicated. If none of the criteria apply, the appropriateness of the medical resource may be questioned (though every medical situation must be considered individually; there may be reasons to utilize a resource even if the criteria do not apply).
Criteria use a format of “ALL of the following” or “1 or more of the following,” with nested lists of criteria. On occasion, “2 or more” or “3 or more” is used. The phrase “ALL of the following” requires all the subsequent child bullets be met; the phrase “1 or more of the following” requires only one of the subsequent child bullets needs to be met.
February 3, 2023
As of 2/03/2023, ODG by MCG datasets now include Canadian duration to support return-to-work (RTW) benchmarks across multiple countries.
This update includes revisions to the United States RTW duration values and the addition of new RTW duration values for Canada across the workers’ compensation and non-occupational disability (STD/LTD) markets in both countries. Updates to duration values for the Australian market are planned for later in 2023.
The analytics can be filtered by diagnosis and procedure, including ICD-9, ICD-10, CPT, and Super Topic groupers, with claims-specific modeling using comorbidities, demographics, and confounding factors. Another feature of the ODG solutions, the ODG Risk Assessment Scores, is influenced by the ODG return-to-work benchmarks and will adjust automatically.
The best measure of post-injury success in workers’ comp and disability cases is RTW. Our goal is to help organizations achieve optimal outcomes with accurate reporting using evidence based evidence-based RTW and treatment guidelines by putting the injured workers at the center.
January 20, 2023
As of 1/20/2023, the Return-To-Work quick links will change to the following list. This list represents the top 15 most frequently pinned return-to-work diagnoses since the beginning of 2022.
Return-To-Work Diagnoses
- Coronavirus Disease
- Pneumonia
- Breast Cancer
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Concussion
- Back Pain
- Alcohol Use Disorder
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Fracture, Rib
- Neck Pain
- Sprain or Strain, Ankle
- Lumbosacral Herniated Disc
- Cerebrovascular Accident
- Osteoarthritis, Knee