Jim -

You can’t seriously expect that doctors are required to READ anything, can you? Although to be fair, Australia may have a billing code that compensates physicians for going to the books in the case of a particular patient, in which case a physician would likely be able (but not guaranteed) to find the following:

Patterns of spread in complex regional pain syndrome, type I (reflex sympathetic dystrophy), Maleki J, LeBel AA, Bennett GJ, Schwartzman RJ, Pain 2000 Dec 1;88(3):259-66; and/or

Spreading of complex regional pain syndrome: not a random process, van Rijn MA, Marinus J, Putter H, Bosselaar SR, Moseley GL, van Hilten JJ, J Neural Transm. 2011 Sep;118(9):1301-9. Epub 2011 Feb 18.

As opposed to the U.S. of course, where, a couple of years ago and contrary to the explicit assurances a neuro-psychologist made to me when I first spoke to her concerning a then-proposed six-week battery of tests, and weeks after I was required to fork over $1,500.00 to cover the amount of her fees my insurance was not expected cover, she pointedly refused to read any of the articles on the neuro-cognitive effects of CRPS I had emailed her well prior to her engagement, “because there’s no billing code to cover research.” Atta-girl!!! Hard headed and plain speaking, she - no doubt still - represents the values of this great land at its best!

(I marvel that anywhere in the rest of the world there are those who would even presume to meet our standards of excellence.)

Mike