Many new and tedious rules have come with the application of the new Medical Treatment Guidelines. While the purpose of the Guidelines was allegedly to expedite necessary medical care, it has been my experience thus far that the Guidelines are being applied with very clear intention on the part of the Workers’ Compensation Board to deny treatment whenever possible. The Board has taken the catch phrase “form over substance” to a new level.

This means that treating physicians and surgeons must become acutely familiar with the rules and regulations if their patients are going to have a chance of receiving the medical treatment that is being recommended.

MG-2 variance requests and C-4AUTH forms have repeatedly denied where physicians fail to send copies of their requests to the Workers’ Compensation Board or fail to identify the specific criteria outlined in the treatment guidelines.

The Guidelines represent a new and extensive burden placed on treating physicians and surgeons. Unfortunately, authorization for and timeliness of necessary medical care depends on the doctors following the procedures closely.