Florida seems to be on a course towards marked changes in the Expert Medical Adviser process. There is some discussion about whether the legislative changes to 440.13(9)(c) will have any relevance.
In the meantime, the Division of Workers' Compensation has changed various rules regarding the EMA process. According to WorkCompCentral, the Division wants more Expert Medical Providers, but the changes "were not made because there was a shortage of doctors." The rationale was instead because "the doctors who are in the program tend to be located in and around the state's big population centers like Miami and Tampa." Thus, there was a perception that "the problem we had was a geographic distribution."
There is "no magic number" of EMA providers required or wanted, and the list is "not short-staffed." According to WorkCompCentral, the new rules will (in italics is all directly quoted from WCC) result in:
* Increased compensation from $200 an hour to $300 an hour for reviewing records and giving expert testimony and depositions.
* Simplification of qualification language.
* Reduction in amount of paperwork necessary to apply.
Physicians quoted in the story agree that "there's been a problem out there," that "doctors tend to shy away from workers compensation cases." The perception is "that workers' compensation cases tend to be fairly litigious."
According to the database, there are 147 EMA providers currently certified.
Of those listed, 59 are in Central Florida, 58 in Southeast Florida, 15 in North Florida, and 14 in Southwest Florida:
Most of these are orthopedic surgeons. The others are detailed here:
So, with the rule changes in reimbursement, time will tell. If you are a physician, consider submitting your paperwork to serve as an EMA. Or, if you know a physician, forward this post to the physician and encourage them to consider joining this effort.
