Oakland — The California Workers’ Compensation Institute (CWCI) is offering an on-demand webinar to help workers’ comp claims, medical care, and legal professionals understand what to expect from California’s new workers’ comp Prescription Drug Formulary, slated to take effect January 1, 2018. The state is close to finalizing the Formulary regulations, and because the implementation date is rapidly approaching, CWCI presented the webinar live on October 4. The 90-minute session, “Focus on the Formulary, conducted by CWCI President Alex Swedlow, General Counsel Ellen Sims Langille, and Claims & Medical Director Denise Niber was recorded and is now available as an on-demand webinar. The webinar is free to CWCI members, $50 for nonmembers. The session includes:

– Details on which drugs will be subject to prospective utilization review (UR) and which will be subject to

retrospective UR.

– A line-item review of each new Formulary regulation to show exactly how the Formulary is designed to function.

– The new time requirements that will be applicable to Formulary medical dispute resolution.

– The requirements for the phased transition of “legacy claims” into the Formulary.

– Information on how the Formulary will interact with the 30-day pass-through provisions of SB 1160 and other

elements of existing law.

– A review of CWCI research on the potential effect of the Formulary on UR costs.

– A Q&A session at the end of the program during which the panelists addressed outstanding issues and concerns.

The on-demand format allows the program to be viewed either in part, or in total, any time before the end of this year. In addition to viewing the program, on-demand webinar registrants can download the information from the seminar slide presentation and the Q&A summary from the October 4 session. Individuals who register and convene in a classroom setting with an instructor, can request a certificate of attendance providing 1.5 hours of credit toward Department of Insurance claims adjuster and medical bill reviewer certification requirements.  CWCI also is a State Bar of California  approved MCLE provider (#2591), so upon request legal professionals can receive a certificate for 1.5 MCLE/Legal Specialization credits  toward State Bar requirements.

The webinar is free to CWCI members, $50 for all others, but pre-registration is required. To register, CWCI members should log on to www.cwci.org, select “Store” on the top of the home page, click Seminars from the drop-down menu, then click the Register button and complete the form. Nonmembers may go to the seminar section of the online Store, click the Register button at the bottom of the page and complete the registration form, including their payment information. After completing the on-line form, the webinar log-in information will be emailed to the registrants. Anyone with questions should call CWCI at 510-251-9470.