Sec. 31-280-1

List of approved physicians, surgeons, podiatrists, optometrists and dentists; standards for approval and removal from the list.

_{Workers' Compensation Administrative Regulation regarding}
Approved Physicians and Other Practitioners

Sec. 31-280-1. List of approved physicians, surgeons, podiatrists, optometrists and dentists; standards for approval and removal from the list.

(a) The list of approved practicing physicians, surgeons, podiatrists, optometrists and dentists from which an injured employee shall choose for examination and treatment under the provisions of Chapter 568, including but not limited to specialists, shall include all such practitioners who hold a current and valid license in their field in the State of Connecticut and who meet the following standards:

(1) continuation of a current and valid license in the State without revocation, suspension or limitation of such license in any way;

(2) possession of a valid federal Drug Enforcement Administration registration certificate in the case of practitioners whose license permits them to prescribe controlled drugs;

(3) compliance with the Medicare anti-kickback regulations promulgated by the United States Department of Health and Human Services;

(4) possession of admitting/active staff privileges at a general hospital accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals, if such privileges are required in order to provide satisfactory professional services within the practitioner’s area of practice;

(5) compliance with the administrative obligations of attending physicians and other practitioners under Section 31-279-9 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies;

(6) forbearance from requiring in advance a payment for providing an opinion or report, either written or oral, or for presenting testimony as a witness at a hearing or a deposition;

(7) completion of a course of training, approved by the Chairman, which course shall include a session describing the general responsibilities and obligations of physicians under the provisions of Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 568, along with training in the recognition and reporting of certain occupational and other diseases under sections 31-40a and 19a-110 of the Connecticut General Statutes; and

(8) forbearance from referring workers’ compensation patients for physical therapy or diagnostic testing to a facility in which such practitioner has an ownership or investment interest other than ownership of investment securities purchased by the practitioner on terms available to the general public and which are publicly traded.

(b) The chairman of the Workers’ Compensation Commission may, after notice and an opportunity to be heard, remove a practitioner from the list of approved physicians, surgeons, podiatrists, optometrists or dentists if such practitioner fails to meet one or more of the standards in subsection (a) of this section.

_{Effective November 23, 1993}