I was hurt at work. Can I treat with any doctor I want?

Not exactly. An injured worker must choose from one of the physicians listed on the employer’s panel of physicians (there are three kinds of panels of physicians: traditional, conformed, and MCO). Although Georgia law states that it is the injured worker’s right to choose which physician he or she would like to have designated as the authorized treating physician (ATP), this usually doesn’t happen. From my experience, it is usually the employer who chooses and sends the injured worker to one of the physicians on the panel once the injury is reported.

It’s also important to point out that if a worker is injured at a time when it is not possible to go to a panel physician (such as late at night when the clinic is closed), and the injury is serious enough to warrant immediate care, the employer will be responsible for expenses incurred as a result of the emergency care. For example, if you are injured late at night and have to go to the nearest emergency room, the employer will be responsible for the ER bill. However, this doesn’t mean that the ER physician is your ATP. At some point in the subsequent days, you will be given the option to choose a panel physician as your ATP.

Tip:  Don’t let the employer force you to treat with a doctor you don’t want to go see. It is your right to choose which physician you would like to have designated as the ATP. Having said that, if you have no preference and don’t know anything about any of the doctors, it would only serve to complicate things if you object to the physician recommended by the employer for no other reason than to assert your right to choose. In other words, don’t argue for the sake of arguing, as this could create a hostile situation between you and your employer and make your time out of work even more inconvenient than it already is. If you are dissatisfied with the care provided by your first ATP, you have the right to make a one-time change of physicians to a different doctor—but this new doctor must also be listed on the panel (unless the panel is invalid, in which case you can choose any doctor at all). You only get one chance to make a change, however, so this choice should be made very, very carefully.