PA Workers’ Comp – Panel Physician v. DME

We were recently asked by an injured PA worker, and not for the first time, “Why is my employer making me see another doctor if I am already being treated by the doctor my employer sent me to?” The answer to the question requires that we look at two different parts of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act (Act). Essentially, we are looking at the difference between a “panel physician” and an “Independent Medical Examination (IME)” [More realistically termed a “Defense Medical Examination (DME)” since there is often nothing “objective” about it].

Under the Act, an employer may only be responsible for payment to a medical provider on a “panel posting,” for the first 90 days of treatment, provided the panel posting meets the requirements as contained within the Act. Though there is a widely held belief that an employer controls medical treatment for the first 90 days, this is a vast overstatement, and employers frequently have an improper panel (meaning that the injured worker may be able to treat with any provider, and have the employer pay for such treatment, from the start).

A proper panel posting must contain at least six providers, at least three of which are physicians (the remainder could be therapy facilities or other healthcare providers who are not doctors). No more than four of the six on the posting may be from the same “coordinated care organization” (one could simply say “practice”). This posting must be displayed in a prominent location. The employer must have the injured worker sign an acknowledgement, both at the time of hire and as soon as practical after the injury, that the injured worker is aware of the panel posting. All of these requirements can be found in Section 306(f.1)(1)(i) of the Act. Frankly, very few employers actually achieve all of these requirements (yet, sadly, injured workers are unfairly saddled with treatment at a location chosen by their employer because the injured worker is not aware of his or her rights).

Even if the injured worker is treating with a provider that is on the employer’s panel posting, the employer (or more likely, its workers’ comp insurance carrier) has the right to have the injured worker examined by a doctor of its choosing under Section 314 of the Act. This is a DME. The bottom line is that the employer is usually entitled to a DME, whether or not the injured worker is treating with a panel provider. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule, and every injured worker should have the benefit of learning his or her rights by discussing their case with an experienced PA workers’ compensation attorney. As with most workers’ comp attorneys in Pennsylvania, we never charge a fee unless we get results for you.