Division Should Rethink Limits on Designated Doctor Testing, Chiropractor Says
Tuesday, June 19, 2018 | 1
The Texas Division of Workers' Compensation should reconsider proposed rules that would limit the number of times an applicant can take the designated doctor test, a chiropractor said Monday.
At a public hearing on the proposed rules, Jeff Cunningham, representing the Texas Chiropractic Association, said the changes would not prevent someone from memorizing the test and selling the answers inappropriately, which the bureau aims to address.
If an applicant fails the test, the new rules would not allow it to be retaken more than three times in a six-month period. After the third attempt, the doctor would have to wait six months before retaking the test, the proposed rules read.
Cunningham said a better approach would be to allow the applicant a choice of waiting six months or taking a training course again. That would help keep more physicians in the mix and would not exacerbate a shortage of designated doctors, he said.
The division has proposed the rules in part to address the shortage and an imbalance: As of late last year, there were 158 medical doctors and 20 doctors of osteopathy, but 345 chiropractors were working as designated doctors, who review medical determinations in disputes.
Monday was the final day the division accepted public comments on the rules.
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