Opinion ID: 2585272
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Did the Industrial Commission err in conditioning Claimant's entitlement to future pain medication and future medical benefits upon her attending a pain clinic or inpatient program by December 21, 2000?

Text: During the course of her treatment, Jarvis became dependent upon narcotic medications. Medical professionals stated that she needed to discontinue those pain medications, and her psychiatrist opined that an inpatient pain clinic was her only chance to return to work. Jarvis decided not to attend a pain clinic, however. The Industrial Commission found that future medical care would be unreasonable if Jarvis fails to follow recommendations of her medical providers. It awarded her $10,000 in future medical care to pay for inpatient treatment and then ordered that she could not receive reasonable medical benefits after December 31, 2000, unless she successfully completed inpatient treatment for her drug dependence and remained free of pain medications. On December 29, 2000, Jarvis filed a motion seeking an extension of time within which to attend the inpatient treatment. In support of that motion, her counsel submitted his affidavit in which he stated that the employer had not made any voluntary payments to Jarvis since 1995, and that Jarvis had not received any payments through garnishment proceedings instituted against the employer since June 1998. He stated that he had contacted several pain clinics in the area and that they required either payment as treatment was provided or a guarantee of payment in order to attend. The employer, a limited partnership, is owned by various entities located in the state of Ohio and is no longer doing business in the state of Idaho. He also stated that Jarvis currently had a case pending in Madison County, Idaho, against the employer and its owners, that he estimated it would take four to six months to obtain a judgment, and that Jarvis would then have to attempt to enforce the judgment in Ohio. The Commission denied Jarvis' request for an extension of time. In denying the request for an extension of time, the Commission stated that it had ordered the employer, not Jarvis, to pay for the inpatient treatment, that she was only required to enroll in the treatment facility, and that if the treatment provider required any payment up front and the employer failed or refused to pay, she could request an extension of the deadline. Jarvis has not raised any objection to attending the inpatient treatment other than her inability to pay for that treatment. In its order, as clarified when denying the requested extension, the Commission did not require Jarvis to pay or incur personal liability for the inpatient treatment. It only required her to actually take whatever steps she could to enroll in that treatment. If the treatment provider will not provide its services upon the credit of the employer, or if, in that case, the employer does not pay for the treatment, then Jarvis could request an extension. We will not presume that the Commission will deny a requested extension under circumstances where Jarvis was unable to obtain the inpatient treatment because of the employer's refusal to pay. Jarvis has not shown that the Commission abused its discretion in imposing this requirement. Jarvis also argues that the Commission erred in conditioning her future medical benefits upon her remaining free of pain medications. Relying upon Sprague v. Caldwell Transportation, Inc., 116 Idaho 720, 779 P.2d 395 (1989), Jarvis argues that the necessity of her receiving pain medications in the future is a decision left exclusively to her treating physicians. If her physician prescribes the narcotics, she should be permitted to take them. Idaho Code § 72-432(1) provides, The employer shall provide for an injured employee such reasonable . . . medicines . . . as may be reasonably required by the employee's physician . . . immediately after an injury . . ., and for a reasonable time thereafter. In Sprague this Court held that the statute requires the employer to pay the costs of reasonable medical treatment required by the claimant's physician where three circumstances are present: (1) the claimant made gradual improvement from the treatment received; (2) the treatment was required by the claimant's physician; and (3) the treatment received was within the physician's standard of practice and the charges for the treatment were fair, reasonable, and similar to charges in the same profession. Hipwell v. Challenger Pallet and Supply, 124 Idaho 294, 859 P.2d 330 (1993). In this case, Jarvis abused narcotic medications for years. Her medical records were replete with recommendations that she terminate her narcotic drug use and that she not use narcotic medications in the future. When her treating physicians became concerned about her narcotic abuse and indicated an intention to discontinue prescribing the drug, she would leave and begin treatment with another physician. [1] There was ample medical evidence showing that her continued use of narcotic pain medications was detrimental to her recovery. The Commission found that it would not be reasonable for her to continue taking these narcotic medications. Considering her history of substance abuse, that finding is certainly supported by the evidence. There is no evidence that her continued use of the prescription painkillers would cause her condition to improve. Rather, the evidence was to the contrary. Under the circumstances in this case, the Commission did not err in requiring that Jarvis discontinue using prescription pain medications.