GQ Corner
Q. Does the PA have the same authority to sign the DWC-73 taking a claimant off work without the signature of the treating doctor? Also, can the PA be considered a treating doctor?
A. Section 408.025 (a-1) permits “a treating doctor [to] delegate to a physician assistant who is licensed to practice in this state under Chapter 204, Occupations Code, or an advanced practice registered nurse who is licensed to practice in this state under Chapter 301, Occupations Code, the authority to complete and sign a work status report regarding an injured employee’s ability to return to work.” The delegating treating doctor is responsible for the acts of the physician assistant or advanced practice registered nurse under this subsection.
Q. We have a claimant who was placed at MMI as of 5/29/18 with a 34% IR. The DWC did not send out notification if the first SIBs quarter was due – which was due by 5/6/20. The adjuster sent the 2nd SIBs application out and it is due by 8/12/20. If we have not received the 1st quarter decision if benefits are due or not, what are our options going forward? How do we know? Do we continue to send out the SIBs applications even if we have not received anything regarding the first quarter? If the claimant submits the 2nd application, but we have no determination from the 1st application are we obligated to pay? Can we dispute 2nd-4th if the claimant does not submit the subsequent applications?
A. If the claimant files the 2nd quarter DWC-52, you will need to review based on the merits regardless of whether the DWC issues a decision on the 1st quarter. If you decide to dispute, in an abundance of caution, to preserve the dispute, you will need to file a complete DWC-45 BRC request within 10-days of receipt. If the claimant does not file a DWC-52 for the 2nd quarter, you are under no obligation to send the blank DWC-52s for the 3rd quarter and subsequent quarters. If the claimant does not file any DWC-52s, you do not need to file any disputes.
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