Sec. 413.0511. MEDICAL ADVISOR. (a) The division shall employ or contract with a medical advisor, who must be a doctor as that term is defined by Section 401.011.

(b) The medical advisor shall make recommendations regarding the adoption of rules and policies to:

(1) develop, maintain, and review guidelines as provided by Section 413.011, including rules regarding impairment ratings;

(2) review compliance with those guidelines;

(3) regulate or perform other acts related to medical benefits as required by the commissioner;

(4) impose sanctions or delete doctors from the division's list of approved doctors under Section 408.023 for:

(A) any reason described by Section 408.0231; or

(B) noncompliance with commissioner rules;

(5) impose conditions or restrictions as authorized by Section 408.0231(f);

(6) receive, and share with the medical quality review panel established under Section 413.0512, confidential information, and other information to which access is otherwise restricted by law, as provided by Sections 413.0512, 413.0513, and 413.0514 from the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners, the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners, or other occupational licensing boards regarding a physician, chiropractor, or other type of doctor who applies for registration or is registered with the division on the list of approved doctors;

(7) determine minimal modifications to the reimbursement methodology and model used by the Medicare system as necessary to meet occupational injury requirements; and

(8) monitor the quality and timeliness of decisions made by designated doctors and independent review organizations, and the imposition of sanctions regarding those decisions.

Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1456, Sec. 1.02, eff. June 17, 2001. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 963, Sec. 1, eff. June 20, 2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 265 (H.B. 7), Sec. 3.251, eff. September 1, 2005.