The California Workers’ Compensation Institute (CWCI) has scheduled an online seminar for Thursday, September 18 to educate workers’ compensation claims and medical professionals, attorneys and other members of the community on revised regulations governing medical provider networks (MPNs), which are currently under review at the Office of Administrative Law (OAL). OAL has until August 27 to approve these regs, and the Division of Workers’ Compensation has asked that they take effect immediately upon filing with the Secretary of State, so the community needs to gear up quickly for the changes.

The half-day program, “What You Need to Know About New MPN Regs and Other Recent Regulatory Revisions,” will review the impact of these changes on the development, maintenance and operation of MPNs; the revised notice requirements; new penalty provisions; updated MPN access standards; and the new medical access assistant requirement. The focus of the program will be on MPNs, but information also will be provided on the changes to the Outpatient Facility Fee Schedule, which take effect September 1, and the changes to the predesignation and chiropractor treating physician requirements that took effect July 1.

The seminar will run from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with two 15-minute breaks. The faculty includes CWCI Claims and Medical Director Brenda Ramirez, CWCI Senior Research Associate Stacy Jones, and Ann Taintor, Regional Medical Coordinator for Liberty Mutual and Chair of CWCI’s Medical Care Committee. CWCI General Counsel Mike McClain will provide legal insight and moderate the program, and Institute President Alex Swedlow will discuss CWCI research examining the use of MPNs in California. Course materials will be emailed to registrants prior to the program and participants will be able to submit written questions for a Q&A session. Attendees who register for the online seminar can qualify for post-designation training hours, and if they convene in a classroom setting with an instructor, toward the Department of Insurance claims certification requirements. Upon request, CWCI will issue certificates to each individual who enrolled. Tuition is $125 for CWCI member company employees, $175 for nonmembers, with group rates for companies enrolling 5 or more employees (call 510-251-9470 for group pricing). For those unable to participate on September 18, the Institute may offer the program as on-demand seminar in the future. For details or to register, visit the Institute’s website at http://www.cwci.org/conferences.html.