RateFast Definitions: PTP (Primary Treating Physician)

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A PTP is the Primary Treating Physician of a workers’ comp claim. When an injured worker’s claim is approved by an insurance company, they are either assigned or given a choice of a physician who will provide care, request treatment, and recommend specialists for examinations during the claim. The PTP also has the job of writing the impairment and permanent stationary reports for the claim, which determines how money the worker is compensated.

The PTP is a physician that is within the MPN (Medical Provider Network) of the insurance company. Generally, an insurance company will assign a PTP to a worker based off of proximity and specialty in relation injury.

If you are a worker who was recently injured and are confused or have questions about the workers’ compensation system in California, see part 1 and part 2 of the Worker’s Guide to Worker’s Comp series.
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RateFast Speed Seminars: Impairment Rating Deserts

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Have you heard of an impairment rating desert? It turns out that location can mean everything for someone with a workers’ compensation claim. Watch to find out what this means and how it can affect injured workers.

Listen to the podcast here!

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Workers’ Comp Fraud: It Isn’t Worth the Consequences

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Every week, several news stories surface about another person, or group of people, being caught for workers’ comp fraud. Those are just the stories that are being published. While it may be true that there are still people getting away with it here and there, this people are just one investigation away from dire penalties.
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How do I know when my impairment rating is complete?

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Update for 2021: RateFast Express is an even easier alternative to the wonderful RateFast software. We write your workers’ comp impairment reports for you. Try RateFast Express today!

This post is for RateFast users who have used the RateFast web application to write an impairment report (in California, a PR-4 report). Click here to learn more about creating an impairment report in RateFast.
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A Worker’s Guide to Workers’ Comp Part II: Making the Most of Your Injury

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If You Need Emergency Medical Assistance, Dial 9-1-1

This guide is intended for employees who wants to know what to do if they sustain a workplace injury or illness. This article series goes beyond the moment of injury, and gives a picture of what to expect when choosing a doctor, getting treatment, and beyond. This guide is specific to California, but many of the steps described cross state lines.

This is the second part of the series covering what a worker should do in the event that they have suffered an injury or illness in the workplace. If you have recently been injured or have fallen ill due to an event or conditions at work, and have not yet filed a workers’ compensation claim with your employer, please see part 1 of this series. If you have filed a workers’ comp claim with your employer, read on.

Now that your claim has been filed with your employer, there are still steps that you must take to ensure that you receive your benefits (and partial pay for time off work, if applicable). This the beginning of your journey through the workers’ compensation system.
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A Worker’s Guide to Workers’ Comp Part I: I Was Injured at Work!

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If You Need Emergency Medical Assistance, Dial 9-1-1

 

This guide is intended for employees who wants to know what to do if they sustain a workplace injury or illness. This article series goes beyond the moment of injury, and gives a picture of what to expect when choosing a doctor, getting treatment, and beyond. This guide is specific to California, but many of the steps described cross state lines.

If your claim has already been filed and approved, and you still have questions about the workers’ comp process, check out part 2 of this series.

Workers’ compensation is a huge industry involving doctors, lawyers, employers, insurance adjusters, government employees, and more. Generally, the one who knows least about workers’ comp is the worker themselves. With a little knowledge about the workers’ comp process, the injured employee will know what to do and what to look out for if they are suddenly hurled into a claim.
Continue reading A Worker’s Guide to Workers’ Comp Part I: I Was Injured at Work!

Beyond MMI: The Workers’ Comp System from a Workers’ Perspective

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Some workers’ compensation claims need future care after reaching MMI (Maximum Medical Improvement). The need for future care means that the claim stays open while the injured worker gets treatment. Sometimes treatment is needed indefinitely.

The patient who we interviewed, we’ll call him David, was injured at work in 2012 and has been receiving future care since his case reached MMI in 2014. His claim involved a personal injury to his spine, which continues to affect his ADLs (Activities of Daily Living) to this day.

His claim represents a fairly common snapshot of what an injured worker experiences when their injury results in lasting impairment. It shows a larger picture of the workers’ comp machine in motion, and the ingredients that make the system so resource intensive for all stakeholders.

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RateFast Podcast: Digitization of Workers’ Compensation

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This article is a transcription of an episode of the RateFast podcast, which you can listen to by searching “RateFast” in iTunes or the iOS podcast store.

If you’re a workers’ compensation provider, adjuster, or case manager check out RateFast Express: the service that writes your impairment reports for you!

Workers’ compensation doctors have to fill out a large amount of paperwork involving patient data and measurements. If filled out incorrectly, a claims adjuster will send the claim back for the doctor to fix. This is a waste of everybody’s time.

With digitization, doctors and adjusters alike can use computer software like RateFast to guide them through the process and set a standard so that no mistakes will make it into the finished product. This means no more wasted time and money sending paperwork back and forth to get it right.

Join Dr. Alchemy in his discussion of work comp digitization with Arun Croll and Claire Williams.
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RateFast Podcast: Understanding Attorneys in Work Comp Pt. II

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This article is a transcription of an episode of the RateFast podcast, which you can listen to by searching “RateFast” in iTunes or the iOS podcast store.

If you’re a workers’ compensation provider, adjuster, or case manager check out RateFast Express: the service that writes your impairment reports for you!

In workers’ comp cases, a doctor will often need to give a deposition to a lawyer. This is not to question the doctor’s capabilities, but rather to get their testimony. In most cases, courts actually prefer a doctor’s deposition to a live testimony.

Sometimes there may be some tension between a doctor and an attorney when a notice of deposition is issued. It is not a cause for alarm! Workers’ comp attorney Phil Walker talks through the issue with Dr. John Alchemy, and gives some tips on how to give a successful deposition.
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