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Constipation is a symptom, not a diagnosis

Assessors are often asked to provide an assessment for constipation resulting from the use of medication and Table 6-4 on page 128 of the AMA 5 is being used to rate this. As constipation is a symptom, not a diagnosis, assessors must provide the appropriate diagnosis of the colonic and rectal disorder or disease in order to use this table or Table 6-5. If assessing a disorder or disease as Class 1, you will need to confirm that the criteria for Class 1 is present, which includes:

  1. signs and symptoms of colonic or rectal disease, infrequent and of brief duration
  2. limitation on ADLs or diet
  3. medication required, and
  4. systemic manifestations present and weight maintained.