Telehealth Treatment Did Not Affect Weight Given to Doctor's Opinion

WORKERS COMPENSATION CASE WATCH

On January 6, 2020, the Commission briefly addressed the issue of telemedicine in the treating physician relationship.  In Carter v. Mondelez International, the claimant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and was treating with a psychologist for PTSD. 

On review, the Full Commission gave greater weight to the opinion of the treating psychologist, over that of the independent medical examination (IME) opinion.  In a footnote, the Commission stated that the claimant has had biweekly therapy with the treating psychologist via telehealth.  The Commission went on to say “we do not find this mode of therapy negatively affects the weight we give [to the doctor’s] opinion as the claimant’s long-standing treating psychologist.”

Read the opinion.

Read the previous edition of Workers' Compensation Case Watch:

Limousine Driver's Accident Did not ‘‘Arise Out Of’’ the 

Jessica Hacker Trivizas is a litigator who focuses her practice on workers’ compensation, defending employers and carriers at the trial and appellate levels. She works with insurance carriers, third-party administrators, and self-insureds. Jessica worked on some of the largest settlements in the country, including the historic NFL Concussion Settlement Program, the BP Oil Spill settlement, and the Reglan/MCP Settlement Program. Her background on these mass claims resolution programs gives her unique insight into the work of claims adjusters.