Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0800-02-20-.06 - REQUESTS FOR A MIR REGISTRY PHYSICIAN

(1) When a dispute of the degree of medical impairment, as defined in these Rules exists, any party may request a listing of physicians from the Administrator's MIR Registry by completing the "Application for Medical Impairment Rating" (hereinafter "Form"), available upon request from the Bureau or online at http://www.tn.gov/workforce/section/injuries-at-work. The completed Form must then be returned to the Program Coordinator via electronic mail, facsimile or U.S. mail.

(2) The requesting party shall send a copy of the Form to the opposing party. The Program Coordinator's decision to accept or deny the Form is final for administrative purposes. If a party disagrees with the decision, then the parties may file a Petition for Benefits Determination (PBD) with the Court of Workers' Compensation Claims.

(3) The request for a MIR Registry physician shall designate:

(a) All body part(s) or medical condition(s) to be evaluated, including whether mental impairment shall be evaluated;

(b) The names of all physicians that have previously evaluated, treated, or are currently evaluating or treating the claimant for the work-related injury at employer and/or employee expense;

(c) The names of all physicians made available to the claimant. If an employer provides the claimant with the name of a group of physicians rather than with individual physician names, the same information shall be included on the request form;

(d) The state file number assigned to the claims.

(4) Selection of MIR Registry physician through party agreement:

(a) Within five (5) business days of receipt of the completed Form from the requesting party, the Program Coordinator shall issue a listing of all qualified physicians in the appropriate geographic area (which shall mean within an approximate one hundred (100) mile straight-line radius of the employee's home zip code), from the MIR Registry to all parties listed on the Form so the parties may negotiate an agreement on the selection of a physician as the MIR Physician.

(b) If the parties agree on one of the physicians from the qualified listing, they shall notify the Program Coordinator of the agreement so he or she may schedule the appointment with the selected physician for the MIR examination.

(c) The listing created will be comprised of physicians qualified based on the information provided by the physician and on their accreditation to perform evaluations of the body part(s) and/or medical condition(s) designated on the application for an evaluation.

(d) Psychiatric or psychological evaluations regarding mental and/or behavioral impairment shall be performed by a psychiatrist.

(e) Chiropractors shall provide impairment ratings for spinal injuries only.

(f) If the Program Coordinator determines that there are an inadequate number of qualified physicians within an approximate 100-mile straight-line radius of the employee's home zip code, the Program Coordinator may produce a state-wide listing of all registry physicians qualified to give the rating.

(g) Parties agreeing to the selection of the MIR Registry physician under this paragraph must abide by all of the directions set forth in these Rules.

(h) A written opinion as to the permanent medical impairment rating given by the MIR Registry physician selected pursuant to these Rules shall be presumed to be the accurate impairment rating pursuant to T.C.A. § 50-6-204.

(5) The submitting party shall certify that all parties, as well as the Program Coordinator, have been sent the completed Form at the same time. The Form will not be processed until all required information has been provided.

(6) The 3-Physician Strike List:

(a) Upon request from one of the parties or after 10 business days have elapsed since the Program Coordinator issued the qualified physician listing according to this section, the Program Coordinator shall narrow the qualified physician listing to three physicians, from which one physician shall be designated to perform the evaluation.

(b) The 3-Physician Strike List shall be derived from the pool of qualified physicians.

(7) The 3-Physician Strike List selection process.

(a) Within three (3) business days of the issuance of the 3-Physician Strike List, the employer shall strike one name from the list and inform the Program Coordinator and all parties of the remaining physicians. Within three (3) business days of the date of receipt of that name from the employer, the claimant shall strike one of the two remaining names and inform the Program Coordinator and other parties of the name of the remaining physician, who will perform the evaluation.

(b) If a party fails to timely strike a name with good cause, as determined by the Program Coordinator, the Program Coordinator may offer additional days for the party to strike.

(c) If a party fails to timely strike a name without good cause, as determined by the Program Coordinator, the Program Coordinator shall randomly strike a physician from the listing instead.

(d) If a selected physician is unable to perform the evaluation, the Program Coordinator shall provide one replacement name to the original listing using the same criteria and process set forth above, and present that revised listing to the parties and each shall again strike one name according to the above procedures.

(e) If a physician is removed from the 3-Physician Strike List for any reason other than having been struck by one of the parties or Program Coordinator, the Program Coordinator will issue one replacement physician name.

(f) If there are not enough physicians to create a 3-Physician Strike List from the qualified pool, and the parties cannot agree, the Administrator shall select the MIR Physician from the pool of qualified physicians, in consultation with the Bureau Medical Director and the MIR Registry Program Coordinator.

(8) Appointment date.

(a) Within three (3) business days of providing or receiving notice of the MIR physician selection, the Program Coordinator shall contact the MIR Registry physician to schedule the evaluation and shall immediately notify all parties of the date and time of the evaluation.

(9) Submission of medical records.

(a) All parties shall concurrently provide to the MIR Registry physician and all other parties a complete copy of all pertinent medical records for treatment and/or impairment ratings obtained at their own expense pertaining to the subject injury, postmarked or hand-delivered at least ten (10) calendar days prior to the evaluation.

(b) If necessary, the claimant shall promptly sign a "MIR Waiver and Consent" permitting the release of information relevant to the subject injury to the MIR physician.

(c) In cases involving untimely medical record submission by a party, the Program Coordinator may elect to reschedule the evaluation to allow the physician adequate time for record review. Otherwise, the physician shall perform the evaluation and shall produce an "MIR Report."

(d) The medical records shall include a dated cover sheet listing the claimant's name, MIR Registry physician's name, MIR Registry case number, date and time of the appointment, and the state file number. The medical records shall be in chronological order, tabbed by year, and grouped by provider within each year.

(e) Medical bills, adjustor notes, surveillance tapes, denials, vocational rehabilitation reports, case manager records, contextual letters, commentaries, depositions, or any other document deemed by the Program Coordinator to compromise the impartiality of the review shall not be submitted to the MIR Registry physician.

(10) Any forms the MIR physician requests to be completed should be completed by the claimant only. If the claimant needs assistance in completing these forms for any reason, the claimant shall notify the MIR Registry physician prior to the evaluation so that assistance can be provided by the MIR Registry physician's staff. The case manager shall not meet with the MIR Registry physician.

(11) The claimant shall notify the Program Coordinator of the necessity for a language interpreter concurrently with his/her notification of the chosen physician's name. The Program Coordinator shall arrange for such services and the employer shall be responsible for paying for such language interpreter. The language interpreter shall be impartial and independent and have no professional or personal affiliation with any party to the claim or to the MIR Registry physician.

(12) When a claimant is required to travel outside a radius of fifteen (15) miles from the claimant's residence or workplace, then such claimant shall be reimbursed by the employer for reasonable travel expenses as allowed by the Workers' Compensation Law Act.

Notes

Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0800-02-20-.06

Public necessity rule filed June 15, 2005; effective through November 27, 2005. Public necessity rule filed November 16, 2005; effective through April 30, 2006. Original rule filed January 30, 2006; effective April 15, 2006. Amendments filed March 25, 2013; effective June 23, 2013. Amendment filed December 26, 2013; effective March 26, 2014. Amendments filed June 10, 2016; effective September 8, 2016. Amendments filed December 5, 2023; effective 3/4/2024.

Authority: T.C.A. §§ 50-6-102, 50-6-204, 50-6-205, and 50-6-233.