The Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) has posted a third 15-day notice of modification to the proposed Medical Treatment Utilization Schedule (MTUS) regulations to the DWC website. Members of the public are invited to present written comments regarding the proposed modification to dwcrules@dir.ca.gov until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, January 13, 2015. The proposed modifications include:

1) Specification that treating physicians provide a clear and concise statement in the Request for Authorization or in an attachment to the Request for Authorization when they are attempting to rebut the MTUS’ presumption of correctness.
2) Requirement that treating physicians provide a copy of the entire study or relevant sections of the guideline containing the recommendation that the physician believes guides the reasonableness and necessity of the requested treatment when they are attempting to rebut the MTUS’ presumption of correctness.
3) Clarification that the MTUS Methodology for Evaluating Medical Evidence shall be applied by Utilization Review physicians and Independent Medical Review physicians when competing recommendations are cited to guide medical care. The MTUS Methodology for Evaluating Medical Evidence is the process used to evaluate the quality and strength of evidence used to support a recommendation.

The notice and text of the regulations can be found on the proposed regulations page.