(a) (1) An insurer, employer, or entity that provides physician network services may establish or modify a medical provider network for the provision of medical treatment to injured employees. The network shall include physicians primarily engaged in the treatment of occupational injuries. The administrative director shall encourage the integration of occupational and nonoccupational providers. Subject to Section 3209.11, the number of physicians in the medical provider network shall be sufficient to enable treatment for injuries or conditions to be provided in a timely manner. The provider network shall include an adequate number and type of physicians, as described in Section 3209.3, or other providers, as described in Section 3209.5, to treat common injuries experienced by injured employees based on the type of occupation or industry in which the employee is engaged, and the geographic area where the employees are employed. (2) Medical treatment for injuries shall be readily available at reasonable times to all employees. To the extent feasible, all medical treatment for injuries shall be readily accessible to all employees. With respect to availability and accessibility of treatment, the administrative director shall consider the needs of rural areas, specifically those in which health facilities are located at least 30 miles apart and areas in which there is a health care shortage. (3) A treating physician shall be included in the network only if, at the time of entering into or renewing an agreement by which the physician would be in the network, the physician, or an authorized employee of the physician or the physicianâs office, provides a separate written acknowledgment in which the physician affirmatively elects to be a member of the network. Copies of the written acknowledgment shall be provided to the administrative director upon the administrative directorâs request. This paragraph shall not apply to a physician who is a shareholder, partner, or employee of a medical group that elects to be part of the network. (4) (A) (i) Commencing July 1, 2021, every medical provider network shall post on its internet website a roster of all participating providers, which includes all physicians and ancillary service providers in the medical provider network, and shall update the roster at least quarterly. Every network shall provide to the administrative director the internet website address of the network and of its roster of participating providers. The roster of participating providers shall include, at a minimum, the name of each individual provider and their office address and office telephone number. If the ancillary service is provided by an entity rather than an individual, then that entityâs name, address, and telephone number shall be listed. (ii) The administrative director shall post, on the divisionâs internet website, the internet website address of every approved medical provider network. (B) Every medical provider network shall post on its internet website information about how to contact the medical provider network contact and medical access assistants, and information about how to obtain a copy of any notification regarding the medical provider network that is required to be given to an employee by regulations adopted by the administrative director. (5) Every medical provider network shall provide one or more persons within the United States to serve as medical access assistants to help an injured employee find an available physician of the employeeâs choice, and subsequent physicians if necessary, under Section 4616.3. Medical access assistants shall have a toll-free telephone number that injured employees may use and shall be available at least from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific standard time, Monday through Saturday, to respond to injured employees, contact physiciansâ offices during regular business hours, and schedule appointments. The administrative director shall promulgate regulations governing
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