North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 11 - INSURANCE › Chapter 23 - INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION › Subchapter C - NORTH CAROLINA INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION RULES FOR UTILIZATION OF REHABILITATION PROFESSIONALS IN WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS › Section .0100 - ADMINISTRATION › Section 23C .0107 - COMMUNICATION

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a) The insurance
				  carrier shall notify the Commission and all parties on a Form 25N Notice to the
				  Commission of Assignment of Rehabilitation Professional when a rehabilitation
				  professional is assigned to a case and identify the purpose of the
				  rehabilitation involvement.
(b) At
				  the initial meeting, the rehabilitation professional shall provide the injured
				  worker with a copy of the Rules in this Subchapter, and shall inform the
				  injured worker that the rehabilitation professional is required to share
				  relevant medical and vocational rehabilitation information with the employer
				  and insurance carrier and that the rehabilitation professional may be compelled
				  to testify regarding any information obtained.
(c) The rehabilitation professional shall
				  timely inform injured workers that the Rehabilitation Professional will share
				  relevant and material information with the employer and insurance carrier and
				  that the Rehabilitation Professional may be compelled to testify regarding any
				  information obtained.
(d) In cases
				  where the employer is paying medical compensation to a provider rendering
				  treatment under the Workers' Compensation Act, the injured worker, if requested
				  by a rehabilitation professional, shall sign a Form 25C Authorization for
				  Rehabilitation Professional to Obtain Medical Records of Current Treatment
				  authorizing the rehabilitation professional to obtain records of the current
				  treatment.
(e) The rehabilitation
				  professional shall provide copies of all correspondence and reports
				  contemporaneously to all parties by the same mode of transmission.
(f) In preparing written and oral reports,
				  the rehabilitation professional shall present only information relevant and
				  material to the worker's medical rehabilitation and vocational rehabilitation
				  and shall make every effort to avoid invasion of the worker's
				  privacy.
(g) The rehabilitation
				  professional shall make periodic written reports documenting accurately and
				  completely the substance of all activity in the case, including rehabilitation
				  activity. The rehabilitation professional shall furnish a worker who is
				  unrepresented by counsel with a copy of each periodic report, or, in the
				  alternative, the rehabilitation professional shall advise the worker either
				  orally or in writing (at least as often as reports are produced) as to the plan
				  for and progress of the case, and that the worker has the right to request a
				  copy of the reports under
				  11 NCAC
				  23A .0607.
(h) Frequency and timing of periodic reports
				  shall be determined at the time of referral and shall depend on the type of
				  service provided. Communication of activity to all parties by telephone,
				  facsimile, electronic media, or letter must occur when information relevant to
				  the rehabilitation process is obtained, changes or revisions are recommended or
				  occur in medical or vocational treatment plans, or on any other occasion when
				  the worker's understanding and cooperation is critical to the implementation of
				  the rehabilitation plan.
(i) If
				  requested by the injured worker or his or her attorney, the initial meeting of
				  the injured worker and rehabilitation professional shall take place at the
				  office of the worker's attorney and shall occur within 20 days of the
				  request.
(j) The rehabilitation
				  professional may coordinate activities with the injured worker's attorney, and,
				  at the employer or carrier's discretion, with the defense attorney.
(k) If the rehabilitation professional
				  believes the injured worker is not complying with the provision of
				  rehabilitation services, the rehabilitation professional shall detail in
				  writing the actions that the rehabilitation professional believes the injured
				  worker is required to take to return to compliance. In determining whether the
				  injured worker is in compliance with the provision of rehabilitation services,
				  the rehabilitation professional shall rely on his or her independent
				  professional judgment and training and shall focus on the overall effect that
				  the worker's actions or inactions are having on the rehabilitation
				  goals.
Authority
					 G.S.
					 97-25.4;
					 97-25.5;
					 97-32.2;
					 97-2(19);
					 97-80;
Eff. January 1,
					 1996;
Amended Eff. November 1, 2014; June 1, 2000;
Recodified from
					 04 NCAC
					 10C .0107 Eff. June 1, 2018;
Amended Eff. November 1, 2022.