Who Is Your Doctor?: Choice of Doctor Under Worker’s Compensation

On Behalf of | Aug 9, 2018 | Workplace Injuries

A common dilemma faced by many injured workers: where to seek treatment following a work injury. Some employers force injured workers to a designated medical provider and many times the injured worker continues treatment with that provider. Workers often assume they cannot switch or see their own physician (which is not correct). Treatment at the employer-designated provider continues until the injured worker is sent back to work, even if the injured worker has not fully healed, which can lead to further injury or employment consequences.

Workers can receive treatment from their own doctor following a work injury. An injured worker in Wisconsin has a right to two “choices” of treating practitioners. What constitutes a “choice” is defined in Wisconsin Statute §102.41(2)(a) and includes any physician, chiropractor, psychologist, dentist, physician assistant, advanced practice nurse practitioner, or podiatrist. The important aspect of physician choice is that referrals from one doctor to another do not exhaust a choice.

We frequently receive calls from injured workers who believe that a referral from their primary care doctor to an orthopedic doctor is the second choice. But that is not how the law works. Only if the injured worker leaves the referral chain do they use their “second choice.”

A referral from a primary care physician to an orthopedic doctor is a single choice. If the orthopedic doctor refers to a pain management physician, again, it is a single choice. The injured worker has now seen three doctors (Primary Care, Orthopedic, Pain Management), but is still within the same “choice.” Doctors within the same practice count as a single choice.

Injured workers need to be aware of their options. Insurance companies may designate a referral to an Orthopedic doctor as the “second opinion” and therefore, the second choice, when really this is still only a single choice. This crucial distinction affords the injured worker the opportunity to receive quality care.

What happens in an emergency? The employer may arrange for emergency treatment after which the injured worker can choose their own doctor without using a choice. This common-sense provision allows employers to direct emergency care without sacrificing the worker’s choice of quality care in the future.

The best advice for injured workers is to always obtain a referral from a treating doctor to any other doctor or specialist. In Wisconsin, the injured worker – not the employer or the worker’s compensation insurance company – controls treatment.

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