Specialties

Allergy and Immunology deals with allergic diseases, asthma and immune deficiency disorders. This includes autoimmune diseases, hypersensitivities, immune deficiency, and transplant rejection.


Anesthesiology deals with pain relief in three areas: local, regional and general.


Pain management (also called algiatry) uses an interdisciplinary approach to ease suffering and improve the quality of life of those living with pain. The typical pain management team includes medical practitioners, clinical psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and nurse practitioners.


Chiropractic experts are often required where subjects have been under the care and treatment of chiropractors for long periods of time. This calls into question the relatedness, necessity, and reasonableness of chiropractic care, as well as the expenses with regard to the injury being litigated.


Colorectal surgery deals with disorders of the rectum, anus, and colon. The field is also known as proctology, but is now most often employed to identify practices relating to the anus and rectum in particular.


Dentistry is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered necessary for complete overall health.


Dermatology is the specialty that diagnoses and treats disorders of the skin. A dermatological expert is required in matters where skin disorders are claimed to be caused by exposure to environmental hazards. In some cases, a dermatologist can opine in matters where there has been trauma causing superficial scarring.


Ear, Nose and Throat (Otorhinolaryngology or ENT) is the surgical specialty that diagnoses and treats disorders and trauma of the senses involving hearing, smell, taste, and the anatomical structures of the head and neck.  These specialists are often retained in cases involving head and neck trauma, hearing loss, alteration of taste and smell, sleep apnea, and tumors of the head and neck.


Emergency Medicine (critical care or intensive care) is the specialized care of patients who have life-threatening conditions and who require comprehensive care and constant monitoring, usually in intensive care units.


Family medicine (FM) is to provide personal, comprehensive and continuing care for the individual in the context of the family and the community. It is devoted to comprehensive health care for people of all ages, sexes, diseases, and parts of the body.


General Surgery is a surgeon who has knowledge and experience related to the diagnosis of conditions as well as preoperative, operative, and postoperative management. General surgeons are retained as experts in cases involving multiple trauma, burns, hernias, blunt force and penetrating injuries to the internal organs. Diseases that general surgeons often evaluate as experts include cancer, critical illness, and gastrointestinal disorders.


Infectious diseases deals with clinically evident illness resulting from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic biological agents in an individual. Infectious pathogens include some viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, multicellular parasites, and aberrant proteins known as prions. These pathogens are the cause of disease epidemics, in the sense that without the pathogen, no infectious epidemic occurs.


Internal medicine deals with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes.


Neurology deals with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the central, peripheral and autonomic nervous system. This includes their coverings, blood vessels and muscle.


Neuropsychology is the discipline of psychology that adds standardized objective testing techniques to psychological interviews in order to diagnose both disease and trauma-based deficits in higher cerebral functions. These functions include awareness, memory, cognitive deficits, and executive functions.  A neuropsychological evaluation is frequently needed in cases claiming memory or cognitive deficits whether from trauma or disease.


Neurosurgery diagnoses and treats diseases and injuries involving the central and peripheral nervous system as well as their surrounding anatomical structures.  There is some overlap with orthopedic surgery in the areas of spinal and peripheral nerve surgeries. The choice of a neurosurgeon as an expert hinges upon the specialty of the treating or opposing specialist in litigation.


Obstetrics and Gynecology deals with the care of women’s reproductive tracts and their fetus during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period. Almost all modern obstetricians are also gynecologists. Gynecology is the specialty of medicine that diagnoses and treats the female reproductive system and lower urogenital structures.


Occupational Medicine is most active in the field of Occupational Health. It promotes the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations. It addresses the prevention of illness among workers caused by their working conditions and the protection of workers from risks. It also deals with placing a worker in an occupational environment adapted to his physiological and psychological  needs, and the adaption of work to each person.


Occupational Therapy is a discipline that aims to promote health by enabling people to perform meaningful and purposeful activities. Occupational therapists work with individuals who suffer from a disabling mental, physical, developmental, and/or emotional condition. The therapist helps clients not only to improve their basic motor functions and reasoning abilities, but also to compensate for permanent loss of function. The goal of occupational therapy is to help clients have independent, productive, and satisfying lives.


Ophthalmology deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders using medication and/or surgery (including laser  surgery).


Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons are dental specialists who treat conditions, defects, injuries and esthetic aspects of the mouth, teeth, jaws and face. These surgeons care for patients who experience such conditions as problem wisdom teeth, facial pain and misaligned jaws. They treat accident victims suffering from facial injuries, offer reconstructive and dental implant surgery, and care for patients with tumors or cysts of the jaws, as well as functional and esthetic conditions.


Orthopedic Surgery is the specialty that diagnoses and treats disorders of the musculoskeletal system and mechanical disorders of the peripheral nervous system. There is some overlap with the specialties of neurosurgery, plastic surgery, and general surgery. The choice of an orthopedic surgeon as an expert hinges on the specialty of the opposing specialist in litigation, and whether the services of a sub-specialist are required.


Pediatrics is the specialty of medical science concerned with the physical, mental, and social health of children from birth to young adulthood. Pediatric care encompasses a broad spectrum of health services ranging from preventive health care to the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic diseases in children.


Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (physiatry) or rehabilitation medicine, is concerned with the evaluation, treatment and coordination of care for persons with musculoskeletal injuries, pain syndromes, and/or other physical or cognitive impairments or disabilities.


Physical Therapy (or physiotherapy), often abbreviated PT, is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention and rehabilitation. This encompasses physical, psychological, emotional, and social well-being.


Plastic Surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic. Plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand surgery, microsurgery, and the treatment of burns.


Podiatry is a branch of medicine devoted to the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and lower leg. Within the field of podiatry, practitioners can focus on many different specialty areas, including surgery, sports medicine, bio-mechanics, geriatrics, pediatrics, orthopedics, or primary care.


Psychiatry is the specialty of medicine devoted to the diagnosis and treatment of major emotional disturbance and abnormal behaviors that usually require medication and perhaps hospitalization.  Choosing a psychiatric expert instead of a psychologist depends on whether the subject is being medicated or has been hospitalized for a relevant disorder.


Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. Psychology is a multifaceted discipline and includes many sub-fields of study such as human development, sports, health, clinical, social behavior and cognitive processes.


Pulmonology (aka pneumology) deals with diseases of the respiratory tract. It is generally considered a branch of internal medicine, although it is closely related to intensive (critical) care medicine when dealing with patients requiring mechanical ventilation.


Radiology aids in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders and trauma through imaging and related (interventional) procedures.  Experts in radiology commonly re-read existing medical imaging in the context of the litigation environment, providing important granular and contextual detail to imaging study “reads” that did not have the benefit of complete medical histories.


Rheumatology (rheumatologist) is a sub-specialty in internal medicine and pediatrics, devoted to diagnosis and therapy of rheumatic diseases. Rheumatologists deal mainly with clinical problems involving joints, soft tissues, autoimmune diseases, vasculitis, and heritable connective tissue disorders.


Vascular Surgery is a specialty of surgery in which diseases of the vascular system (arteries and veins) are managed by medical therapy, minimally-invasive catheter procedures, and surgical reconstruction.

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