Medical Criteria Legislation: A Response to Screening Scandals, Part Two

For part one of Medical Criteria Legislation: A Response to Screening Scandals, Click Here.

Medical Criteria: Radiographic Criteria

In addition to requiring functional impairment, current medical criteria statutes require physiologic manifestations of asbestos or silica exposure through radiographic findings or pathology.¹⁰⁴ The radiographic interpretations and reporting are governed by the International Labour Organization's (ILO) standardized system for classifying chest x-rays for the presence of pneumoconiosis, known as a B-read.¹⁰⁵ Reliance on radiographic evidence alone, however, can lead to abuses¹⁰⁶ necessitating demonstration of functional impairment. With respect to non-malignant asbestos-related claims, the ILO profusion often dictates the impairment requirements.¹⁰⁷ …