S-3924.2                   _______________________________________________

 

                                                     SENATE BILL 6154

                              _______________________________________________

 

State of Washington                              53rd Legislature                             1994 Regular Session

 

By Senators Prentice, Sutherland, McAuliffe and Vognild

 

Read first time 01/14/94.  Referred to Committee on Labor & Commerce.

 

Limiting ex parte contact with physicians or medical providers regarding industrial insurance matters.



          AN ACT Relating to ex parte contact with physicians or medical providers regarding industrial insurance matters; amending RCW 51.04.050 and 51.36.060; and adding a new section to chapter 51.52 RCW.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

 

        Sec. 1.  RCW 51.04.050 and 1961 c 23 s 51.04.050 are each amended to read as follows:

          Except under section 3 of this act, in all hearings, actions or proceedings before the department or the board of industrial insurance appeals, or before any court on appeal from the board, any physician having theretofore examined or treated the claimant may be required to testify fully regarding such examination or treatment, and shall not be exempt from so testifying by reason of the relation of physician to patient.

 

        Sec. 2.  RCW 51.36.060 and 1991 c 89 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

          Physicians examining or attending injured workers under this title shall comply with rules and regulations adopted by the director, and shall make such reports as may be requested by the department or self-insurer upon the condition or treatment of any such worker, or upon any other matters concerning such workers in their care.  Except under RCW 49.17.210 ((and)), 49.17.250, and section 3 of this act, all medical information in the possession or control of any person and relevant to the particular injury in the opinion of the department pertaining to any worker whose injury or occupational disease is the basis of a claim under this title shall be made available at any stage of the proceedings to the employer, the claimant's representative, and the department upon request, and no person shall incur any legal liability by reason of releasing such information.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3.  A new section is added to chapter 51.52 RCW to read as follows:

          Upon appeal of a worker's claim to the board of industrial insurance appeals, ex parte contact between a representative of the department, self-insured employer, or employer and a worker's treating physician or a physician or other medical provider who has consulted on the case at the request of the worker, the worker's representative, or the worker's treating or consulting medical provider is prohibited on matters relating to the specific issues appealed and subject to the jurisdiction of the board unless prior notice of the contact is provided to the worker or the worker's representative and the contact is conducted under the applicable civil rules of discovery.  Contact with the treating or consulting physician or medical provider limited solely to a written request for medical records under RCW 51.36.060, need not be conducted under applicable procedural civil rules of discovery if the worker or the worker's representative is provided five days' prior written notice of the request and notice of the request is submitted at least sixty days before the first scheduled hearing or before any discovery cut-off date, whichever is earlier.  The board may adjust this time period for good cause.  The worker or worker's representative may, if appropriate, challenge the scope of the request for medical records or raise other substantive civil rule discovery issues.

          Upon request, the information or medical records must be made available for inspection and copying by the worker or the worker's representative.  Material received by a self-insured employer or its representative under this section must be deemed part of the file for the purposes of RCW 51.14.120.  This section does not preclude ex parte contact with a physician retained by the department or employer to evaluate a worker.

 


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