Clinical panel
The role of our Clinical Panel is to conduct clinical reviews and provide clinical support to our claims services officers. The Clinical Panel will also provide professional support and advice to healthcare providers treating injured workers.
The Clinical Panel consists of experienced medical and allied healthcare professionals including:
- Medical Practitioners
- Physiotherapists
- Pharmacists
- Psychologists
Medical and allied healthcare professionals working at Comcare provide clinical advice to assist with claims management and improving decision making. These professionals play an important role in ensuring our injured workers receive the most appropriate treatment for their injury—consistent with industry best practice.
Clinical Panel reviews focus on ensuring that treatments are clinically justified and aim to improve return to work and health outcomes.
Reviews may include phone conversations between the treating healthcare provider and Clinical Panel member about the current and future treatments of an injured worker. If an agreement cannot be reached, we may require the injured worker to attend an independent medical examination.
The Clinical Panel provides recommendations to claims services officers after completing a review.
As part of the clinical review process, the Clinical Panel will ask healthcare providers to supply information about an injured worker. If you are responding to one of our requests the following information may be helpful:
- Clinical Panel reviews are a cooperative and collaborative process between treating healthcare providers and Clinical Panel members.
- Privacy laws allow Comcare to collect information about injured workers from healthcare professionals.
As a healthcare professional, you are not breaching privacy laws if you provide health information about an injured worker to Comcare during a Clinical Panel review.