The California Division of Workers’ Compensation announced Friday that new rules allowing an additional 30 days to schedule a medico-legal evaluation are now in effect.
The Office of Administrative Law approved the rules and they went into effect Thursday when they were filed with the Secretary of State.
The rules require a qualified medical evaluator to schedule an examination with an injured worker within 90 days of being selected from a panel, an increase from the 60 days previously allowed. The extended time frame applies to both initial and subsequent evaluations.
The rules also define remote health evaluations and establish criteria for when medical evaluations can be conducted using video conferencing or similar technology. The rules permit remote examinations when there is a disputed medical issue involving causation, termination, compensation benefits or work restrictions and the parties consent to the evaluation.
The department said in a statement that proposed changes related to electronic service of documents were withdrawn from the proposal. The agency said it will begin an additional 1
5-day comment period to address the electronic services rules.WorkCompCentral is a sister magazine to Business Insurance. More stories here.
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