Selecting an attending doctor

Injured workers must have an attending doctor to:

• Manage their treatment.
• Report progress to the claim manager.
• Help the worker return to work as soon as possible.

Workers have the right to choose a doctor to treat the industrial injury or occupational disease. The practitioner must be:

• Licensed in the state in which he or she is practicing.
• Conveniently located.
• Qualified to treat the industrial injury or occupational disease.
• Licensed to practice one or more of the following:
  • Medicine and surgery (MD).
  • Osteopathic medicine and surgery (DO).
  • Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners (ARNP).
  • Physicians Assistants (PA).
  • Chiropractic (DC).
  • Naturopathy (ND).
  • Dentistry (DDS or DMD).
  • Optometry (OD).
  • Podiatry (DPM).

ARNPs and PAs may also serve as the attending doctor but cannot perform special examinations or rate permanent impairment.

Some health care providers (such as psychologists) and para-professionals (such as nursing assistants and surgical technicians) cannot be the attending doctor.

An injured worker may request transfer of care to a new attending doctor of his or her choice during the course of treatment. The claim manager will review and approve or deny the request for transfer of care. All requests for transfer of care must be made in writing.