03 March 2021
Anthony Jordan
[FYI request #14656 email]
Tēnā koe Anthony
Your Official Information Act request, reference: GOV-008998
Thank you for your email of 11 February 2021, asking for the following information under the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act):
•
please provide a copy of the Accredited Baseline Concussion test
•
please provide evidence to indicate the test is congruent to International standards
Our response
There is no
ACC accredited baseline concussion test. Therefore, your request is refused under section
18(e) of the Act, as the document alleged to contain this information does not exist.
However, we can provide some information that may be helpful.
In the context of sport; some teams do implement baseline testing as a benchmark so that when a
player has sustained a concussion there can be some evaluation of the cognitive and physical impact of
the injury. These tests are not ‘accredited’ but they are based on the
International Consensus Statement
on Concussion in Sport. This is currently implemented at the discretion of each sport or team.
In a clinical context (ie once the concussion has occurred) there are existing, validated concussion
assessment tools for clinical use, but there is not currently a standardised approach. Please note that
these assessment tools are not diagnostic; they aid the clinician’s decision making and the management
of the patient. ACC does not accredit any of these assessment tools or outline any specific tests in any of
ACC’s clinical contracts.
Further information about concussion can be found here:
https://www.accsportsmart.co.nz/concussion/ https://www.acc.co.nz/im-injured/preventing-injury/traumatic-brain-injury-tbi/ How to contact us
If you have any questions, you can email me at
[email address]. If you are not happy with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the Ombudsman.
Information about how to do this is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or by phoning 0800
802 602.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Sasha Wood
Manager Official Information Act Services
Government Engagement & Support