Workers' compensation in the United States and the role of the primary care physician.

Abstract

The workers' compensation system was designed as a no-fault system in the early years of the last century. The system is organized on a state level. There are three differing models in current use: the single public fund, the single private fund, and an open market. States range as well in the amount of choice available to the injured workers in their selection of health care providers. In each state though, the physician plays an integral role in ensuring that the injured worker obtains adequate medical care in a prompt and efficient manner. The physician's function is either as treating physician, or as one who provides an independent medical evaluation for either the employee's lawyer, the employer, the insurer or their counsel or the state. Many obvious improvements in the system have not been made because political agreement on the state level is often lacking.