The AMA has convened diverse experts with deep expertise across a broad range of medical topics to serve as the AMA Guides® Editorial Panel (the Guides Panel). This group includes physicians, allied health professionals and regulatory and legal advisors.
Panel members
- Douglas W. Martin, MD, co-chair
Specialty: Occupational Medicine
Affiliation: Center for Neurosciences, Orthopaedics, & Spine Occupational Medicine
Doug Martin, MD, is co-chair of the AMA Guides Editorial Panel and serves as the medical director for the Center for Neurosciences, Orthopaedics, & Spine Occupational Medicine in Sioux City, Iowa.
Dr. Martin is a past president of the American Academy of Disability Evaluating Physicians, a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians Commission on Education and vice chair of the Interstate Postgraduate Medical Association. He was installed as vice president of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine in 2020.
Dr. Martin was an AMA Guides® Sixth reviewer and has authored chapters in the AMA’s Guides to the Evaluation of Disease and Injury Causation, Guides to the Evaluation of Work Ability and Return to Work, and Guides to Navigating Disability Benefit Systems. He served as an alternate delegate and delegate to the AMA House of Delegates as the American Academy of Disability Evaluating Physicians/International Academy of Independent Medical Evaluators representative from 2005-2018.
He is a certified medical review officer, an aviation medical examiner, an immigration civil surgeon and a Social Security Disability Examiner for Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota.
- J. Mark Melhorn, MD, co-chair
Specialty: Occupational Orthopaedics
Affiliation: University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita
J. Mark Melhorn, MD, is co-chair of the AMA Guides Editorial Panel and an occupational orthopaedic physician who specializes in hands and upper extremities. He is a clinical associate professor, department of orthopaedics at University of Kansas School of Medicine - Wichita and is the program director for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons annual CME on workers' compensation.
Dr. Melhorn is an editor for AMA Guides® to the Evaluation of Work Ability and Return to Work, AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Disease and Injury Causation and was the lead author for the upper extremity chapter in the AMA Guides Sixth. He contributed to the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment fourth, fifth and sixth editions. Dr. Melhorn is an editorial board member of the AMA Guides Newsletter.
Dr. Melhorn has served on a variety of committees dedicated to providing treatment and evaluation of workplace injuries. He has been or is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Occupational Orthopaedic and Workplace Injuries Committee, the International Academy of Independent Medical Evaluators Impairment Examination and Testing Committee and the American Society for Surgery of the Hand Work Injuries Committee.
- Steven Feinberg, MD, MPH
Specialty: Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Pain Medicine
Affiliation: Feinberg Medical Group and Stanford University Pain Service—School of Medicine
Steven Feinberg, MD, MPH, is a member of the AMA Guides Editorial Panel and a physiatrist and pain medicine specialist practicing in Palo Alto, California. He is an adjunct clinical professor, anesthesiology, perioperative and pain medicine department, Stanford University–School of Medicine. He is a past president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine. He is senior author of the yearly updated American Chronic Pain Association–Stanford Resource Guide to Chronic Pain Treatment. Dr. Feinberg serves on the Western Occupational and Environmental Medicine Association Board of Directors.
He is a member on the AMA Pain Care Task Force, California DWC Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee and was the panel chair for the ACOEM Chronic Pain Guidelines Panel Chapter 2017 update. He served as a reviewer for the AMA Guides Sixth, is a member of the AMA Guides Newsletter Advisory Board and an expert reviewer for the Medical Board of California.
- David Gloss, MD
Specialty: Neurology
Affiliation: Charleston Area Medical Center
David Gloss, MD, is a member of the AMA Guides Editorial Panel and a neurologist who serves as the chair of neurology at Charleston Area Medical Center. Dr. Gloss has contributed to evidence-based medicine, by being the methodologist for more than 25 American Academy of Neurology guidelines. He helped with the latest edition of the American Academy of Neurology Guideline Manual, and wrote the American Epilepsy Society Guideline Manual. He is a Cochrane contributor. He has chaired and/or been involved in evidence-based medicine committees for the American Epilepsy Society, American Academy of Neurology, and the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society.
- Rita Livingston, MD, MPH
Specialty: Preventive Medicine
Affiliation: Live-Well Medical Consultants, LLC
Rita Livingston, MD, MPH, is a member of the AMA Guides Editorial Panel and a board certified preventist. She has worked in occupational medicine for more than ten years, serving as medical director of Concentra Occupational Medicine Clinic in Savannah, GA, prior to opening her own medical office to perform consultative examinations for Georgia Disability Adjudication Services and compensation and pension exams for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Livingston currently serves as a medical officer for the United States Army, Ft. Stewart Medical Evaluation Board. Dr. Livingston is dedicated to the improvement of health and health systems with a focus on high-risk populations, promoting medical service delivery that is competent, compassionate and patient-centered.
- Idalia Massa-Carroll, PhD
Specialty: Rehabilitation Psychology
Affiliation: Colorado Psychological Services
Idalia Massa-Carroll, PhD, ASPPB/PsyPACT, is a member of the AMA Guides Editorial Panel and a licensed bilingual (Spanish) psychologist. She is the owner of Colorado Psychological Services and the recipient of the 2021 Outstanding Women in Business by the Denver Business Journal.
Dr. Massa-Carroll is an expert in the field of impairment and providing psychological services to individuals receiving workers’ compensation. Her practice specializes in providing brief rehabilitation psychological care to injured workers. Additionally, she serves as the chair of the Colorado Neuropsychological Society Workers Compensation Task Force. She was the driving force behind the creation of Colorado House Bill 22-1354 which secures and protects the mental health records of injured workers receiving services under the workers' compensation system in Colorado.
Dr. Massa-Carroll has served as a Public Health Advisor for the Center for Mental Health Services (SAMHSA) and as a social scientist for the National Institute of Health (NICHD, Bethesda, Maryland). She was a member of the DSM-5 Task Force and served as a clinician supporting the development of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. Dr. Massa-Carroll was born and raised in Puerto Rico, the daughter of a small-town nurse. She is also a wife, a mother and a golden retriever owner.
- Eric Auty Kanoalani Mayer, MD
Specialty: Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Affiliation: Seton Spine & Scoliosis Center
Eric Auty Kanoalani Mayer, MD, is a member of the AMA Guides Editorial Panel and a staff physician with Ascension Texas Spine and Scoliosis. He currently serves as an assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Dell Medical School at The University of Texas.
Dr. Mayer has devoted his entire clinical practice to restoring physical function in patients with disabling spinal conditions and advancing integration of patient reported outcomes. He has practiced at the PRIDE Center (Productive Rehabilitation Institute of Dallas for Ergonomics), which is nationally recognized for its work helping those with complex back injuries return to activity and regain their employment status. Dr. Mayer spent a decade at Cleveland Clinic as associate director of the Center for Spine Health and at the Center for Neurological Restoration as director of clinical outcomes and associate director for clinical transformation.
Dr. Mayer co-founded a spine and musculoskeletal medicine fellowship nationwide in 19 locations, including a NASS-recognized ISMM fellowship at Ascension Texas Spine and Scoliosis.
- Gayla L. Poling, PhD
Specialty: Audiology
Affiliation: The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Gayla L. Poling, PhD, CCC-A, ABA Certified, is a member of the AMA Guides Editorial Panel and chief research audiologist at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Audiology Unit. She is active in professional service which includes the American-Speech-Language Hearing Association, National Hearing Conservation Association, American Academy of Audiology and the International Ototoxicity Management Group.
Dr. Poling received her undergraduate and master’s training in speech and hearing science from The Ohio State University and completed her clinical fellowship at Henry Ford Hospital. She completed her postdoctoral training focused on translational research at the Medical University of South Carolina and Northwestern University. Prior to joining Mayo Clinic in 2015 she provided support as a research audiologist to the Department of Defense Hearing Center of Excellence.
Dr. Poling's clinical and research focus is on early detection and prevention of ototoxicity-related hearing loss—hearing loss caused by aging, noise and other environmental factors. Her research helps advance methods for the earliest detection of hearing loss, which permits timely intervention and helps mitigate negative impacts on the quality of life of affected people and their families. Dr. Poling is also interested in leveraging data-driven solutions toward improving accessibility to timely and individualized hearing health care.
- Marilyn Price, MD
Specialty: Psychiatry
Affiliation: Massachusetts General Hospital
Marilyn Price, MD, is a member of the AMA Guides Editorial Panel and a forensic psychiatrist with the law and psychiatry service at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and associate fellowship director of the Harvard Forensic Psychiatry program.
Dr. Price has contributed to the practice of psychiatry and forensic psychiatry, particularly in the areas of psychiatric disability and fitness for duty. She is a Distinguished Life fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). She has served as a member of the APA’s Council on Psychiatry and the Law and on the Council on Geriatric Psychiatry. She was a member of the APA’s Corresponding Committee, Psychiatry in the Workplace.
From 2019-2020, Dr. Price was the president of Massachusetts Psychiatric Society. Dr. Price has been active in the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL), including a term as a vice president. She was a member of the Task Force on Disability Guidelines and a member of the Task Force on Forensic Assessment Guidelines. In 2016, she received the Outstanding Service Award (Red AAPL) from the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.
- Noah Raizman, MD
Specialty: Orthopaedic Surgery
Affiliation: The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics
Noah Raizman, MD, is a member of the AMA Guides Editorial Panel and a hand and upper extremity surgeon at The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics in Washington, D.C. and is on the faculty at George Washington University.
Dr. Raizman speaks nationally on Impairment Rating and has chaired and taught multiple courses for the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) on worker’s compensation and impairment rating utilizing multiple versions of the AMA Guides. He also serves as chair of the Evidence Based Practice Committee of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) and is a member of the Evidence Based Quality and Value Committee of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
- Michael Saffir, MD
Specialty: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Affiliation: Orthopaedic Specialty Group
Michael Saffir, MD, is a member of the AMA Guides Editorial Panel and a multiple board-certified specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R), pain and sports medicine. He has practiced in Connecticut for 30 years, including programs for traumatic brain injury, pain management, occupational medicine workers comp and the orthopedic specialty.
Dr. Saffir is an advocate for patient care as a leader in medicine, serving as president of the Connecticut State Medical Society and is on the board of the American Academy PM&R. He is a member of Connecticut State Workers Compensation Commission Medical Advisory Board and the Connecticut Prescription Monitoring Program Opioid task force. Dr. Saffir’s interests include smart technology and telemedicine, photography and skiing.
- Robert T. Sataloff, MD
Specialty: Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery
Affiliation: Drexel University College of Medicine
Robert T. Sataloff, MD, DMA, FACS is an AMA Guides Editorial Panel member and is professor and chair, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and senior associate dean, Drexel University College of Medicine, and director of otolaryngology and communication sciences research at the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research.
Dr. Sataloff is chair of the boards of directors of the Voice Foundation and of the American Institute for Voice and Ear Research. Dr. Sataloff is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Voice and editor emeritus of Ear, Nose and Throat Journal. He has written over 1,000 publications, among these 71 books, including a text on occupational hearing loss, currently in its third edition. Dr. Sataloff is the representative for the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery to the American Medical Association for issues involving impairment. He has contributed to the 4th, 5th and 6th editions of the AMA Guides and was the primary editor for the otolaryngology chapter in the 6th edition.
He has been awarded more than $5 million in research funding. His h-index is 43 (as of May 2022). His medical practice is limited to care of the professional voice and to otology/neurotology/skull base surgery.
Panel advisors
- Christopher R. Brigham, MD
Specialty: Occupational Medicine
Affiliation: Brigham and Associates, Inc.
Chris Brigham, MD, is an advisor to the AMA Guides Editorial Panel and an occupational medicine physician and the president of Brigham and Associates, Inc.
Dr. Brigham has been involved with the AMA Guides for nearly three decades, serving as editor of the AMA Guides Newsletter and Casebook, and senior contributing editor for the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, sixth edition. He is author of Living Abled and Healthy and nearly 300 peer-reviewed articles, and has spoken at over 350 events.
- Barry Gelinas, MD, DC
Affiliation: International Academy of Independent Medical Evaluators (IAIME)
Barry Gelinas, MD, DC, is an advisor to the AMA Guides Editorial Panel and board chairperson of the International Academy of Independent Medical Evaluators (IAIME), an IAIME Fellow and Certified MedicoLegal Evaluator. He is a course facilitator for The Health Sciences Education and Research Commons Collaborative Practice course at the University of Alberta.
Dr. Gelinas has served in various leadership roles within IAIME, including immediate past president and board chairperson, and continues to serve on the examination and certification committee and as faculty, which includes teaching the AMA Guides® Sixth.
- Les Kertay, PhD
Specialty: Psychology, Disability Evaluation
Affiliation: Axiom Medical
Les Kertay, PhD, ABPP, FIAIME, is an AMA Guides Editorial Panel advisor and a clinical psychologist with over 45 years of clinical experience and over 20 years of experience in the disability and workers’ compensation arena. In that capacity he has held both frontline and leadership positions, and has served as an industry consultant. Currently he is senior vice president for behavioral health for Axiom Medical, working with the team on his passion for delivering meaningful behavioral health solutions in a work setting, and he is an adjunct professor of psychology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Dr. Kertay graduated from Western Michigan University with a BA in Communication Arts and Sciences, completed his doctoral program at Georgia State University and is board certified in clinical psychology with the American Board of Professional Psychology.
Dr. Kertay is a strong proponent of worker-centric clinical care and has published and presented widely on biopsychosocial issues in return to work, medical/psychological comorbidities and the value of focusing on behavioral health in disability and workers’ compensation. He has been involved with the AMA Guides publications and the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Guidelines and has served on committees related to developing medical guidelines.
- David W. Langham, JD
Affiliation: Florida Compensation Claims
David W. Langham, JD, is Florida deputy chief judge of compensation claims, a position he has held since 2006. His legal experience includes workers' compensation, employment litigation and medical malpractice. He has delivered in excess of 1,200 professional lectures, published over 40 articles in professional publications and has published over 1,100 substantive blog posts regarding the law, technology and professionalism. Mr. Langham is a student, a teacher, a critic, a coach and a leader. He lives in Pensacola, Florida, with his wife Pamela Langham, Esq.
- Robert B. Snyder, MD
Specialty: Orthopedic Surgery
Affiliation: Medical Director, Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation
Robert B. Snyder, MD, an advisor to the AMA Guides Editorial Panel, spent 37 years as a practicing orthopedic surgeon and now serves as medical director for the Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.
Dr. Snyder’s responsibilities with the bureau include medical treatment guidelines, utilization review, case management, fee schedules, rules, physician/provider communications and staff support for the medical advisory committee and the medical payment committee. He is the course director for the bureau’s physician education program and an instructor for the certified physician program and WorkComp College. He previously served on the Medical Care Cost Containment Committee for Workers’ Compensation.
A popular speaker, Dr. Snyder has lectured for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, the National Workers' Compensation and Disability Conference, the National Association of Workers' Compensation Judges and a variety of Tennessee societies. He has made numerous presentations to attorneys, case managers, employers, adjusters and insurers.
A graduate of Wayne State University School of Medicine, Dr. Snyder trained at the University of Pittsburgh before completing a residency in orthopedics and rehabilitation at Vanderbilt University.
