Accreditation

Beginning July, 1991, Colorado law requires that certain doctors who provide worker’s compensation services must be accredited, which means that they are required to prove that they understand certain workers’ compensation concepts. Thos concepts include maximum medical improvement, the fee schedule, medical impairment ratings, medical treatment guidelines, utilization review, and denial of surgery and its relationship to maximum medical improvement. There are two levels of accreditation. Level I is available for doctors who provide primary care to patients who have been unable to return to work for more than three working days (“time-loss injuries”). This program is voluntary except for chiropractors. Level II accreditation is mandatory for all physicians who provide medical impairment ratings for injured workers after January 1, 1993.  The Division of Workers’ Compensation has available a list of accredited physicians and a list of all physicians who accreditation has been revoked. These lists are updated on a monthly basis. (Section 8-42-1010(3.5) – (3.6),C.R.S.).