Tips on doctors referring you to another doctor

Mary Bailey

• Always find a doctor that takes comp or is from the required list if you are in managed care.
• Check out the doctor with other injured workers and your attorney and ask the doctor referring you out to
  write a prescription for you to see the specific doctor you chose with specific
  reasons as to why your treating doctor would like you to see this doctor. It
  saves you from having the carrier pick your doctors.
• Always ask for a copy of the letter the carrier is sending the doctor concerning your appointment and
  get it before the appointment. They have to give you this.
•  
•  
• As you can guess there are very often some specific and misleading statements
  from the carrier to the doctor. You want to be sure you know what the
  carrier is implying about your medical history.
• If there are too many untruths or misleading comments you may want to find another doctor to see because the
  doctor may become tainted from the misinformation he has received.
• Also make a complaint with the EAO office about misleading statements and tell them you want
  a more fair and accurate letter.
•  
•  
• Always try and get the doctor to send you a copy of any reports and/or
  letters he is sending to comp.
• Always have your treating doctor call or send a letter to the referral doctor to better inform him of your overall health care
  problems. Often the carrier will get a doctor to release you to work based on
  only the findings of the specific problem he may be addressing as opposed to
  your overall condition.
• Never depend on the carrier to send your records. We already know they tend to pick and choose those records that benefit them the most.
• Remember that you can have a person video the whole appointment as long as you let the doctor know you are doing this in advance.