(California Code of Regulations 9780.1)

In the event you sustain an injury or illness related to your employment, you may be treated for such injury or illness by your personal medical doctor (M.D.), doctor of osteopathic medicine (D.O.) or medical group if:

  • on the date of your work injury you have health care coverage for injuries or illnesses that are not work related;
  • the doctor is your regular physician, who shall be either a physician who has limited his or her practice of medicine to general practice or who is a board-certified or board-eligible internist, pediatrician, obstetrician/gynecologist, or family practitioner, and has previously directed your medical treatment, and retains your medical records;
  • your “personal physician” may be a medical group if it is a single corporation or partnership composed of licensed doctors of medicine or osteopathy, which operates an integrated multispecialty medical group providing comprehensive medical services predominantly for nonoccupational illnesses and injuries;
  • prior to the injury your doctor agrees to treat you for work injuries or illnesses;
  • prior to the injury you provided your employer the following in writing: (1) notice that you want your personal doctor to treat you for a work-related injury or illness, and (2) your personal doctor's name and business address.

You may use this form to notify your employer if you wish to have your personal medical doctor or a doctor of osteopathic medicine treat you for a work-related injury or illness and the above requirements are met. 

 

Labor Code Section 4600 defines a personal physician as my regular physician and surgeon [a doctor of medicine (MD) or a doctor of osteopathy (DO) licensed pursuant to the Business and Professions Code, Section 2000], who has previously directed my medical treatment and who retains my medical records, including my medical history and who has agreed in advance to the terms and conditions of predesignation as noted below.

If I seek medical care for an illness/injury that I believe to be work-related, I will immediately inform my supervisor, who will give me a Workers’ Compensation Claim Form (form DWC-1).  I will notify my physician that I was injured on the job.