CWCI Examines Medical Dispute Resolution Trends, Outcomes

The California Workers’ Compensation Institute said the number of independent medical review decision letters declined in both 2019 and 2020 from a record high in 2018, as the pandemic drove down overall claim volume, and the adoption of a new formulary reduced the number of disputes over prescription drugs. CWCI said its latest study found that the number of IMR determination letters increased from 143,983 in 2014 to a record of 184,735 in 2018. But volume declined by 26% over the next two years, dropping to 163,899 letters in 2019 and 136,746 in 2020. The decline coincided with the l...