Health Care Provider Advisory Council Minutes August 14, 2015

Aurora Medical Center in Summit

August 14, 2015

Members present: Mary Jo Capodice, DO; Theodore Gertel, MD; Amanda Gilliland; Maja Jurisic, MD; Jeff Lyne,DC; Delora Newton; James O'Malley (acting chair); Jennifer Seidl

Member Excused: Richard Goldberg, MD; Stephen Klos, MD; Michael Lischak, MD; Marlin Nelson; Peter Schubbe, DC; Ron Stark, MD; Sri Vasudevan, MD

Staff present: Mary Lynn. Endter, Ana Lopera

Observer: Forbes McIntosh, ATI Physical Therapy

Call to Order/Introductions: Mr. O'Malley convened the Health Care Provider Advisory Committee (HCPAC) meeting at approximately 10:15 a.m., in accordance with Wisconsin's open meetings law. HCPAC members, Worker's Compensation Division Staff, and observers introduced themselves. Delora Newton was introduced as the new Worker's Compensation Division (WCD) Administrator.
Acceptance of the January 23, 2015, and May 8, 2015 Meeting Minutes: The HCPAC members made corrections to the January 23, 2015 meeting minutes as follows: Jennifer Seidl was an excused member. The members made corrections to the May 8, 2015 minutes as follows: correct the spelling of Dr. Maja Jurisic's first name; change the credentials of Dr. Capodice from MD to DO; add Jennifer Seidl as an excused member; correct the spelling of Liz Thompson; and correct the spelling of Dr. Hardin's name. Dr. Capodice moved to approve the minutes of the January 23rd and May 8th minutes as corrected. Dr. Lynne seconded the motion. The minutes of each meeting were unanimously approved as corrected.
Future Meeting Dates: The members of the HCPAC agreed that they will meet on October 16, 2015. The tentative dates for future meetings are January 22 or 29, 2016, with February 5 or 12 as alternate dates in the event of inclement weather. The date of May 6, 2016, was also selected. The members will be polled to finalize future meeting dates.
Update on the Budget Bill: Mr. O'Malley advised the Budget Bill, that recently passed and became effective on July 13, 2015, included the provision that 29.5 full time employee positions of the Worker's Compensation Division (WCD) would be transferred to the Division of Hearings and Appeals (DHA) effective January 1, 2016. This number includes 18 ALJs, 7 court reporters and 5 support staff. Mr. O'Malley said there should not be a disruption in the scheduling of hearings, and that a memorandum of understanding between the WCD and DHA was being formulated to address issues involving this upcoming transition. Both agencies were committed to keeping any disruption to a minimum.
WCAC Agreed Upon Bill: Mr. O'Malley stated the the Worker's Compensation Advisory Council(WCAC) continued to deliberate on the "Agreed upon Bill " for this Biennium The next meeting of the WCAC is scheduled for August 25, 2015. The WCAC may finalize the bill at that meeting. Proposals for legislative changes from labor, management and the public were available on the WCD's website.
Implementation of ICD-10: Mr. O'Malley informed the HCPAC that the WCD received numerous telephone calls about the upcoming implementation of ICD-10 and the impact this will have on worker's compensation. He prepared a brief memo on this topic and the memo was distributed to the HCPAC. The memo explains that the WCD does not have any rule or statutory authority to mandate any type of medical coding or medical billing. Mr. O'Malley recommended that health care providers contact payers with questions about billing practices and medical coding. Mr. O'Malley further said that an informal work group had been formed to discuss resolving problems associated with the implementation of ICD-10 The members are from the Wisconsin Hospital Association, the Wisconsin Medical Society and the Wisconsin Insurance Alliance.
Professional Development: Dr. Capodice said that she and Dr. Vasudevan had worked on developing new training modules for physicians and the training modules are almost completed. The first four (4) training modules will be completed by the end of December and they cover: 1. A history of the WC system and its structure from a legal perspective; 2. Information on making causation determinations; 3. Tips on writing restrictions and preparing return to work forms; and 4. Instructions on determining the extent of permanent partial disability. These modules will be available as on-line webinars, sponsored by the Wisconsin Medical Society with free access to its members, and for a small fee to non-members. These training modules will be approved for continuing medical education credits. Future modules will address issues such as communication between insurers and providers. The modules will be distributed to the HCPAC for review before they become public. Dr. Capodice will arrange for a viewing of the training modules at the next HCPAC meeting.
Mr. O'Malley informed the HCPAC that the paper Chronic Opioid Clinical Management Guidelines for Wisconsin Worker's Compensation Patient Care has now been placed on the WCD's website under the section " Medical Providers."
Questionnaire in updating minimum permanent disability ratings in s. DWD 80.32: Mr. O;Malley said the the WCD will conduct a survey of Physicians who treat and examine injured employees about their opinions on minimum ratings for permanent partial disability (PPD). He distributed a draft questionnaire and the HCPAC made a number of suggestions to improve the questionnaire. The questionnaire will likely be sent on a computer program such as Survey Monkey once it is ready for dissemination to the medical community
Review of DWD ch. 81 Treatment Guidelines: The WCD will provide all members of the HCPAC with a copy of ch. DWD 81 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code so they can continue the process of updating the treatment guidelines as needed.
Adjournment: Mr O'Malley announced the Dr. Michael Lischak will likely be resigning as a member of the HCPAC since he has accepted new employment out-of-state. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 12:40 p.m.