Under the flag of insurance medicine, many physicians seem to do comparable work in different European countries. For a large part, their work has to do with sick leave and work disability, fields with major societal impact and implications. Unlike most clinical disciplines, insurance medicine does not have any distinct property that is valid in all countries.

Inaugural symposium of the Amsterdam Satellite of Cochrane Work. Amsterdam, 6 September 2019. Save the day! 

With a great pleasure we present the 2018 CIM Annual Report!In 2018, CIM created the topic 'Insurance Medicine' in the Cochrane Library to facilitate the search and use of Cochrane reviews. In terms of research, our members published 11 peer-reviewed papers. Our network had also an outstanding participation in several high level academic events.

CIM and Work have been supporting each other for almost 3 years and conducted various collaborative projects, like joint workshops at the last two Cochrane Colloquiums. Recently, we decided to make this collaboration formal, starting by focusing on a list of priority reviews on topics relevant to both groups. 

To clarify the specific role of opioids compared to placebo or other analgesics in the management of patient with chronic noncancer pain, Jason Busse, McMaster University, and Canadian Co Director of CIM led an international systematic review.

With a great pleasure we present the 2017 CIM Annual Report!

High variability among medical experts when assessing claimants for work disability benefits, a BMJ review says.

Sickness or accidents often result in prolonged absence from work. To facilitate successful return-to-work, tailored programs frequently support employees and workers during this transition period. A recent Cochrane review with 14 studies from 9 countries concludes that the short-, medium- and longterm effects of these programs do not meet the expectations. To read the full article, please click here

Joint meeting of Cochrane Insurance Medicine and Cochrane Work (Monday 24 October, 13:00-13:50).  These two related Cochrane groups will introduce themselves and share ongoing projects with the audience. We will present findings from CIM’s stakeholder survey about information needs where insurance physicians expressed an interest for more education in interpreting scientific evidence and applying it to individual cases.

Health care is being improved constantly - what seemed adequate yesterday may be outdated today. For health professionals it has not been easy to quickly access the most recent evidence from research. But also lay people want to use reliable health information. Is acupuncture beneficial for lower back pain? Evidence-based answers to such questions can be found in the Cochrane Library. All residents in Switzerland have free access to it from now on.