California Work Comp Report

There are countless activities that we do in a day, but a finite number of Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) recognized by workers' compensation professionals, in order to gauge the severity of a work comp injury. The ADLs are arguably the most important factor in a worker's comp impairment report, which is why Dr. John Alchemy is here to give us a quick primer on ADLs and what to look f...

If you've followed our series up until this point, you should have a good grasp on what we call Impairment Rating Literacy. Now it's time to put that knowledge to work. Once you assess the skill of the author, you need to be able to score the report based off of what they've given you. Doctor John Alchemy tells you how to do that in this episode!    For more information on this epis...

Dr. John Alchemy discusses the big themes of impairment rating and what to look out for when doing impairment reports for workers' compensation professionals. Join Dr. John Alchemy in describing Impairment Rating Literacy and its utility in the workers' compensation system. For more information on this episode, and other helpful tips about workers' compensation, visit the RateFast B...

While reading any impairment report, it's important to be assessing the skill of the author who wrote it. An author can be very experienced, or they can be guessing entirely. In this episode, Dr. John Alchemy shows us some ways to be able to make this assessment ourselves. Join Dr. John Alchemy in describing Impairment Rating Literacy and its utility in the workers' compensation system....

Think of Impairment Rating Literacy as the precious substance "Spice" from Frank Herbert's essential science fiction novel, Dune. The one who is in control of Impairment Rating Literacy is the one who is in control. If you're a workers' comp professional, it would be most beneficial if you were the one with Impairment Rating Literacy. Join Dr. John Alchemy in describing Im...

For this final installment in our series, Mr. Phil Walker Esq. and Dr. John Alchemy caps off this series with the type of things that win cases in his experience.  For more information on this episode, and other helpful tips about workers' compensation, visit the RateFast Blog . If you're a workers' compensation provider, adjuster, or case manager check out RateFast Express : the se...

Power can be misused in every industry, and this does not exclude healthcare. In this episode, Dr. John Alchemy is joined again by Phil Walker, Esq. to discuss these intricacies of the business, and how workers comp stands out.  For more information on this episode, and other helpful tips about workers' compensation, visit the RateFast Blog . If you're a workers' compensation provid...

We are joined again by returning champion, work comp attorney Phil Walker, to discuss the sensitive topic of workplace abuse in the healthcare setting. Dr. John Alchemy and Mr. Walker discuss the change of the healthcare industry over the years and how workplace abuse has seeped into the cracks that have developed over time. For more information on this episode, and other helpful tips about worker...

For this final episode in our series, we discuss the AMA Guides four-corners rating and compare that to the California Almaraz-Guzman ruling. This is one of the more complicated topics in California Workers' Compensation, which is why Dr. John Alchemy is here to clear it up for us! For more information on this episode, and other helpful tips about workers' compensation, visit the RateFas...

Your patient may need diagnostic testing from a specialist. In this installment of our series, Dr. John Alchemy discusses when diagnostic testing is necessary in work comp claims, and useful tips for the process. For more information on this episode, and other helpful tips about workers' compensation, visit the RateFast Blog . If you're a workers' compensation provider, adjuster, or...

Dr. John Alchemy is back to tell us about the examination portion of a workers' comp impairment rating, and provide us with some useful tips to take into account during this crucial step in the process. For more information on this episode, and other helpful tips about workers' compensation, visit the RateFast Blog . If you're a workers' compensation provider, adjuster, or case...

Today we embark on a new series, where Dr. John Alchemy explains the nuances and best practices of taking measurements for impairment reports. We are breaking this series down by sections, so today Dr. Alchemy covers taking patient history and activities of daily living (ADL). For more information on this episode, and other helpful tips about workers' compensation, visit the RateFast Blog . I...

In this final episode in our series on head injuries in work comp, Dr. John Alchemy covers post traumatic headaches, how to assess them, and then dives into the complicated topic of combining impairment ratings. This is one of our biggest series on one of the most complicated topics in work comp, so we encourage anyone with questions to reach out to us! See the table mentioned on this episode&apos...

This is the penultimate episode in our series on the AMA Guides 5th edition chapters covering head injuries, in our quest to help doctors understand this complicated type of injury a bit better. Dr. John Alchemy explains how to recognize these types of injuries in patients, and guide them through better understanding their symptoms. For more information on this episode, and other helpful tips abou...

Today we have a two-part episode to continue our series on head injuries, covering AMA Guides chapter 12: Vision Loss and chapter 13: Memory Loss Dr. John Alchemy provides insight to these two chapters in the AMA Guides with some useful advice on how to implement the contents of the guides into your own work comp practice. See the table mentioned on this episode's post on our blog For more in...

We continue our series on head injuries in workers' compensation, where we cover chapter 11 of the AMA Guides 5th edition, which outlines hearing loss. Dr. John Alchemy gives us some useful information on recognizing hearing loss, and effectively gathering information from the patient so that it can ultimately be rated. For more information on this episode, and other helpful tips about worker...

This is episode one in our series regarding rating head injuries in workers' compensation. Dr. John Alchemy tells us a little bit about rating this body part, and why the head in particular is so much more difficult to rate than any other body part in workers' compensation. This series will cover the chapters in the AMA Guides 5th ed. which discuss head injuries, and we will explore each...

This week we give a rundown of the ways that RateFast Express can be helpful to the workload of workers' comp Nurse Case Managers. We discuss things such as the ways that RateFast Express speeds up claims, as well as how to sign up for and start using RateFast Express today! For more information on this episode, and other helpful tips about workers' compensation, visit the RateFast Blog...

Today we continue our series of the best ways for workers' compensation healthcare providers to take rateable histories on different body parts with the shoulder! For more information on this episode, and other helpful tips about workers' compensation, visit the RateFast Blog . If you're a workers' compensation provider, adjuster, or case manager check out RateFast Express : th...

Today we embark on a series of the best ways for workers' compensation healthcare providers to take rateable histories on different body parts. Our first topic is on lower back pain. For more information on this episode, and other helpful tips about workers' compensation, visit the RateFast Blog . If you're a workers' compensation provider, adjuster, or case manager check out R...

We've outdone ourselves again with the RateFast Flash Rating! Now RateFast users have access to the the fastest impairment reports (and thus, the fastest closed claims) in the biz! We talk with Dr. John Alchemy about what the RateFast Flash Rating is and what it means for workers' compensation practices. Out with the old and in with the new! For more information on this episode, and othe...

We'll tell you this, if workers comp physicians loved writing impairment reports, there would be a lot less problems in the California workers' comp system. Maybe. Join us as we explore the reasons that doctors say no to reports, even if it's their legal duty to do so. For more information on this episode, and other helpful tips about workers' compensation, visit the RateFast B...

We're back with part II of our series in which Dr. Alchemy discusses the politics of workers' compensation.  For more information on this episode, and other helpful tips about workers' compensation, visit the RateFast Blog . If you're a workers' compensation provider, adjuster, or case manager check out RateFast Express : the service that writes your impairment reports wit...

When referring to impairment rating between stakeholders, the word "politics" comes to mind. This week we discuss with Dr. John Alchemy why that's the case. For more information on this episode, and other helpful tips about workers' compensation, visit the RateFast Blog . If you're a workers' compensation provider, adjuster, or case manager check out RateFast Express...

Dr. John Alchemy gives some quick clips about the basics of California work comp terms that apply to some degree in all states. These explanations are: What is a workers' comp injury? What is a Doctor's First Report of Injury or Illness (DFR) ? What is a Primary Treating Physician's Progress Report (PR-2) ? What is a Request for Authorization (RFA) and Utilization Review (UR) ? The...