(a) All case managers, including case manager assistants, coordinating the medical care services provided to employees claiming benefits or handling claims of employees claimed under this chapter shall be certified by the bureau pursuant to this section.
medical exam

Ask a workers compensation law question, get an answer ASAP!
Thousands of highly rated, verified workers compensation lawyers.
Claims, medical treatment, disability payments, termination, and more.
Get help with workers' comp forms, benefits, or employers' responsibilities
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 50-6-123

  • Administrator: means the chief administrative officer of the bureau of workers' compensation of the department of labor and workforce development. See Tennessee Code 50-6-102
  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Case management: means medical case management or the ongoing coordination of medical care services provided to an injured or disabled employee on all cases where medical care expenses are expected to exceed a threshold. See Tennessee Code 50-6-102
  • Employee: includes every person, including a minor, whether lawfully or unlawfully employed, the president, any vice president, secretary, treasurer or other executive officer of a corporate employer without regard to the nature of the duties of the corporate officials, in the service of an employer, as employer is defined in subdivision (11), under any contract of hire or apprenticeship, written or implied. See Tennessee Code 50-6-102
  • Employer: includes any individual, firm, association or corporation, the receiver or trustee of the individual, firm, association or corporation, or the legal representative of a deceased employer, using the services of not less than five (5) persons for pay, except as provided in §. See Tennessee Code 50-6-102
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) The administrator shall establish, pursuant to the administrator’s rulemaking authority, a system of case management for coordinating the medical care services provided to employees claiming benefits under this chapter; provided, however, it is within the discretion of the administrator to provide or deny case management services to any employee who has suffered a workers’ compensation injury. Pursuant to the administrator’s rulemaking authority, the administrator may establish:

(1) Minimum standards for the professional practice of case managers and case manager assistants; and
(2) A procedure for case managers and case manager assistants to obtain certification if required pursuant to this section.
(c) Any case manager, case manager assistant, or person or entity that employs a case manager who fails to comply with this section, or rules promulgated pursuant to this section, may be subject, after notice of a violation has been provided, to a penalty of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) per violation, at the discretion of the administrator. In addition to any penalty assessed pursuant to this subsection (c), the administrator may also suspend the person’s certification as a case manager or case manager assistant if, in the discretion of the administrator, the person has an established pattern of violations of this section.
(d) The bureau shall notify any person who has violated this section of such violation and may assess a penalty, suspend the person’s certification, or both. The person shall have fifteen (15) calendar days from the date notice was sent to appeal the decision pursuant to the procedures provided for under the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5, or to pay the assessed penalty.
(e) Nothing in this section shall prevent an employer from establishing its own program of case management that meets the guidelines promulgated by the administrator in rules.
(f) Medical care, treatment, therapy, or services provided at the employee’s residence pursuant to this chapter shall not be considered home health services as defined in § 68-11-201 when provided pursuant to direction of the employee’s attending physician in the following specific circumstances only:

(1) By a licensed healthcare provider who routinely provides services to employees at the place of employment, if the services rendered by the provider at the employee’s residence are of the same type rendered by the provider at the place of employment; or
(2) By a licensed physical therapist, occupational therapist, or speech therapist practicing independently of a home health agency, when the employee’s attending physician determines that it is in the best interest of the employee to be treated by the independent therapist because of the therapist’s expertise in workplace injuries.
  Previous section
Next section  
 Part 1 Contents