Health-care practice guidelines shall be developed in accordance with the following provisions: (1) The Workers' Compensation Oversight Panel shall adopt, recommend and maintain a coordinated set of health-care practice guidelines and associated procedures to guide utilization of health-care treatments in workers' compensation, including but not limited to care provided for the treatment of employees by or under the supervision of a licensed health-care provider, prescription drug utilization, inpatient hospitalization and length of stay, diagnostic testing, physical therapy, chiropractic care and palliative care. (2) The guidelines shall be, to the extent permitted by the most current medical science or other applicable science, based on well-documented scientific research concerning efficacious treatment for injuries and occupational disease. To the extent that well- documented scientific research concerning efficacious treatment is not available at the time of adoption or revision of the guidelines, the guidelines shall be based upon the best available information concerning national consensus regarding best health-care practices in the relevant health-care community. (3) The guidelines shall, to the extent practical consistent with this section, address treatment of those physical conditions which occur with the greatest frequency (for services compensable under this chapter), or which require the most expensive treatments (for services compensable under this chapter), based upon currently available Delaware data. (4) The guidelines shall contain a section guiding the utilization of prescription medications. (5) Health-care practice guidelines may be based upon an existing model, already in use, to guide treatment of medical care for workers' compensation. Additional guidelines may be initially adopted, pursuant to the same criteria, to obtain coverage of areas or issues of treatment not included in other adopted guidelines. In no event shall multiple guidelines covering the same aspects of the same medical condition be simultaneously in force. (6) Services rendered by any health-care provider certified to provide treatment services for employees shall be presumed, in the absence of contrary evidence, to be reasonable and necessary if such services conform to the most current version of the Delaware health-care practice guidelines. Services provided by health-care providers that are not certified shall not be presumed reasonable and necessary unless such services are preauthorized by the employer or insurance carrier, subject to the exception set forth in § 2322D(b) of this title. It is intended that these guidelines will be recommended to the Panel by Panel subcommittees in coordination with a qualified contractor with expertise in establishing treatment guidelines, developing the rules that define the use of such guidelines, and disseminating the guidelines in a manner that streamlines the delivery of health care. (7) Health-care practice guidelines shall be subject to review and revision by the Workers' Compensation Oversight Panel on at least an annual basis. It is the intent of the General Assembly that the development of health-care guidelines will be recommended by a predominantly medical or other health-professional subcommittee, recognizing that health-care professionals are best equipped to determine appropriate treatment. It is further intended that subcommittees comprised of representatives from appropriate specialties will make comment and offer recommendations to the Workers' Compensation Oversight Panel.
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