San Francisco, CA – The Division of Workers’ Compensation’s (DWC) new online process for QME represented initial panel requests has been successfully up and running since its Oct. 1 launch providing consistent online availability. This means the waiting period for a represented initial panel is now instantaneous, a process that previously had significant delays.
“The more quickly injured workers get panels the faster they resolve benefit issues,” said Christine Baker, Director of the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). “One week after launch, the DIR is happy to announce that the system is working exactly as intended.”
In the first five days after the online system went live, the DWC Medical Unit received 3,815 panel requests and issued 2,900 panels. These numbers reflect the typical ratio of approved to denied requests, as seen prior to the online system.
As a response to common inquiries, DWC has posted FAQs and a user’s guide (PDF) to its website. “The division has received valuable user feedback since the launch, and we’ve created these additional resources to guide attorneys through the process so they can file panel requests successfully,” said Destie Overpeck, Administrative Director of DWC.
Additional information can be found on the DWC Medical Unit website.
Source: CA DWC