Appropriate Medical Coverage of Intercollegiate Athletics (AMCIA)

Recommendations and Guidelines for Appropriate Medical Coverage of Intercollegiate Athletics

AMICA Document Review and Status Update
The AMCIA Spreadsheet Tool is currently unpublished for corrections to the automated calculations. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope to have it published again very soon.
The Intercollegiate Council for Sports Medicine (ICSM) recently conducted a comprehensive review of the AMICA document, alongside the College Value Model, through a dedicated workgroup of collegiate athletic trainers from a variety of settings and associations over a two-year period. During this process, it was determined that the data informing the AMICA document is outdated and limited in scope. In particular, the data primarily reflects a single association and, therefore, is not comprehensive of the full collegiate athletic training landscape. Additionally, more recent research, predominantly one collegiate association-specific, remains insufficient to support a broadly applicable, evidence-based update to the original model or its associated calculations.
The review also highlighted the significant evolution of the collegiate athletic training environment. Changes in administrative responsibilities, expanding clinical roles, and variability in employment structures across institutions have introduced a level of complexity that cannot be appropriately captured through a single standardized formula or staffing ratio. These factors vary widely based on conference affiliation, institutional resources, level of competition, and the expectations placed on athletic trainers within each setting.
Given these considerations, it was determined that updating the AMICA document or attempting to revise its equation would not result in a meaningful or accurate representation of current practice. Instead, the decision was made to retain the document in its original form as one too, and not stand alone, consistent with its initial intent as outlined in the opening section.
ICSM recognizes that institutional leaders often seek clear ratios or numerical benchmarks to guide staffing decisions. However, due to the wide variability across collegiate settings, a single prescriptive model is not appropriate. The AMICA document should be used as a general reference to support discussion and decision-making, alongside institution-specific considerations and professional judgment.

Contained in Recommendations and Guidelines for AMCIA:

  • Revised System Worksheet and accompanying narrative to assist individuals in applying the recommendations (Appendix A)
  • Time Loss Injury Rate and Catastrophic Injury Rate classification tables (original Tables 7 and 11 respectively)
  • # Additional/updated references where indicated

basis for recommendation

Recommendations were based on current literature and data pertaining to the topic. Included in the review were:

  • Relevant published literature
  • Guidelines and position statements from sports medicine organizations and associations
  • Detailed institutional and conference studies (i.e., injury rates, treatements per injury rate)
  • National surveys of current medical coverage
  • Two-year AMCIA Injury surveillance data (Powell & Dompier, In Review)
  • NCAA Inury Suveillance System
  • NCAA Emergency Care and Coverage Survey
  • NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook
  • Legal cases and settlements related to athletic injuries
  • National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Surveillance

definition of appropriate medical coverage

Appropriate medical coverage involves more than basic emergency care during sports partcipation. It encompasses the provision of many other health care services for the student-athlete. While emergency medical care and event coverage are critical, appropriate medical coverage also includes activities of ongoing daily health care of the student-athlete, such as:

  • Determination of athletes’ readiness to participate, in conjunction with the team physician (i.e., pre-participation evaluation and post-injury/illness return)
  • Risk management and injury prevention
  • Recognition, evaluation and immediate treatment of athletic injuries/illnesses
  • Rehabilitation and reconditioning of athletic injuries
  • Psychosocial intervention and referral
  • Nutritional aspects of injuries/illnesses
  • Health care administration
  • Professional development to maintain and improve knowledge and skills

useful links