Archive for the ‘General’ Category

Washington, D.C. OWCP District Office Relocates

Tuesday, October 13th, 2015

The U.S. Department of Labor, Division of Federal Employees Compensation (DFEC) recently announced that the Washington, D.C. District Office has moved locations. If you are an injured federal employee with an OWCP claim assigned to this OWCP district office, please take a moment to update your records for their new address. They new location address is:

 

U.S. Dept. of Labor, OWCP
375 E Street, S.W., Suite 12-300
Washington, D.C. 20024

 

Even though the physical location of the OWCP District Office has changed, there has been no change to the mailing address for general correspondence. You can continue to send general case correspondence and bills to the Central Mail address at PO Box 8300, London, KY 40742-8300.

 

A Quick Note on Maximum Medical Improvement

Friday, January 25th, 2013

Maximum Medical Improvement, or MMI, is a term that doctors use to indicate that an injury or injured person’s ailment has somewhat stabilized. If it is unlikely that your injury will significantly improved over the next 12 months, a doctor can place you at MMI.

The OWCP and AMA Guides 6th edition require that your doctor indicates MMI before you have an impairment evaluation done for the purposes of a schedule award benefit. Read more about Schedule Award benefits here.

OWCP Forms 101

Wednesday, May 16th, 2012

Which form does what? Of course most federal employees are not familiar with OWCP forms because they’ve never had an on the job injury. But if you or someone you know does ever have an injury, you must know which forms do what!

Here is a quick and simple refreshment to help us all remember some of the most important forms involved with OWCP Federal Workers Compensation claims.

CA-1  Notice of Traumatic Injury and Claim for Continuance of Compensation

CA-2  Notice of Occupational Disease and Claim for Compensation

CA-2a  Notice of Recurrence

CA-7  Claim for Compensation (leave without pay, leave buy back, other wages, schedule award)

CA-10  What a federal employee should do when injured at work

CA-17  Duty Status Report

CA-20  Attending Physician’s Report

OWCP-5a  Work Capacity Evaluation Psychiatric/Psychological Conditions

OWCP-5b  Work Capacity Evaluation Cardiovascular/Pulmonary Conditions

OWCP-5c  Work Capacity Evaluation Musculoskeletal Conditions

OWCP-915  Claim for Medical Reimbursement

OWCP-957  Medical Travel Refund Request

There are many more forms that may be used during the course of a federal employees workers compensation claim and you can find the full list and links to these forms here.

If your doctor is not familiar with these forms, share this information with them. It is vitally important to all federal employees with ongoing OWCP workers compensation claims that their doctor understands how to help them keep their ligament claim alive! This again is why FedDoctor.com exists. To help connect injured federal employees with doctors who understand OWCP.

 

 

Help us help you!

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

FedDoctor.com is a free service that allows federal employees to find talented doctors in their local area that have experience and an interest in helping them with not only treatment, but paperwork from their federal workers compensation claims.

Many of you who have never suffered a federal work related injury may not understand the significance of this service. The Department of Labor’s Office of Workers Compensation Programs (OWCP), is a form of self insurance. In most states, employers are required to purchase workers compensation insurance in case one of their employees is injured on the job. The federal government employs over 2.5 million men and women, but instead of buying insurance from a company, it chooses to self insure. The OWCP is the agency that governs the rules and regulations.

Because that is different from any other employer in your home state, most doctors are not familiar with their system. Remember that federal employees are outnumbered 50-1 in most areas and most doctors do not take the time to learn about the different rules for 2% of the potential patient base. They instead choose to stay with their regular, non-federal patient systems.

This puts federal employees at a disadvantage. When they get injured on the job and the OWCP starts asking for form completion or detailed causation narratives, many doctors will give it a try, become disheartened by the OWCP seeming lack of cooperation, and then give up on the process.

Why would they want to spend all of that extra time just for one patient? It doesn’t make sound business sense.

But some doctors have learned the federal workers compensation system. They are few and far between, but they can make the difference in whether your claim is approved or denied, whether you get certain treatments or surgeries, or whether you are ever compensated for your injury.

This doesn’t mean that you need to switch doctors right now. But if you or anyone else that you know gets hurt on the job, you need to see a federal doctor as quickly as possible. These doctors can help you document your injury from the very beginning.

But we need your help! FedDoctor is a new idea and is absolutely the first of its kind. We need for you to tell everyone you know. Every union member, every federal employee, even your current doctor. If your doctor has helped in the past with an OWCP claim, tell him to contact us. We may have already received emails from federal employees in that area who would like to start seeing him.

Please get up at your next union meeting and share. Forward our newsletter to your union stewards and like our Facebook page. We have a twitter feed and blogs that we update very often. Subscribe and be the light to your area. The information and doctors that are found on this website will absolutely change the lives of the people that read it.

FedDoctor is here to help you get treated…Fairly.

FedDoctor.com is on the move!

Monday, October 24th, 2011

Stay tuned to our blogs as we are actively pursuing doctors in a number of new regions across the country. Remember that federal doctors can be extremely difficult to find.

Most doctors do not have an interest in helping federal employees with their workers compensation injuries and paperwork. We are always trying to encourage doctors to become more familiar with the OWCP and the Department of Labor processes to be more helpful to federal employees.

The doctors on our website are adept at treating federal employees with their work related injuries. They have experience working with you to help you get the treatment you deserve from your OWCP claim. They are familiar with the AMA Guidelines 6th edition and how to process schedule award impairment ratings specifically for the OWCP.

Remember that you can help us and your fellow federal employees and OWCP claimants by telling us if you know of a doctor who works on OWCP injuries. Some federal employees never find a good federal doctor and are often left out in the cold when it comes to treatment, benefits and returning to health.

Help yourself and start getting what you are entitled to. Don’t let the OWCP intimidate you. You need a doctor who understands the process and can give you an honest evaluation and a fair shake. Also, be sure to tell your friends and unions about FedDoctor.com.

Why should you tell your friends about FedDoctor?

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

FedDoctor.com does not charge federal employees for any reason! We are here simply to help federal employees find doctors who truly understand the federal workers compensation process.

Federal doctors who understand the OWCP system and truly care about their patients’ conditions and paperwork are extremely difficult to find. That’s part of the reason that FedDoctor has taken off! Once federal employees who have been injured on the job catch wind of the fact that there is a place to find quality physicians who understand the OWCP, they can’t get to our site fast enough!

This is your chance to help your co-workers. If they can get in to see a quality doctor who can help them with their paperwork, they are more likely to get back to full health and return to work. If they have suffered a severe injury and will not be able to return to work, they need help getting started on their retirement claims. A federal doctor can help them get the medical treatment and documentation to help them through the process.

Tell your friends and union members. Like our Facebook page and Follow our Twitter feed and blog posts. We are constantly writing material that we think may come in useful to you or someone that you care about. Remember, no one wants to get hurt at work. At least now, you have a place to go to find help.

Now you can browse FedDoctor.com by city

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

We have recently added a feature to the home page of FedDoctor.com that allows visitors to browse through the available physician lists by searching in a metropolitan area.

Keep in mind that FedDoctor.com is always working to find more federal doctors who focus a part of their practice on federal workers compensation treatment. While we currently have doctors covering areas in over twenty states, we want to add more to our network! Keep checking back with us as we are providing useful information and updates on new OWCP doctors.

The OWCP Causation Process

Friday, October 7th, 2011

One reason that federal employees have difficulty getting their OWCP claims accepted is that their medical provider is not familiar with how to word a federal workers compensation medical narrative or causation report. That is not to say that their doctor doesn’t understand a medical condition or the treatment options, but simply that the majority of physicians and caretakers are not familiar with the federal workers compensation system and the special requirements that are necessary to satisfy the OWCP.

Whenever a federal employee is injured on the job, it is extremely important that they seek medical attention for their injuries and make sure that their doctor documents the cause of the injury. The Office of Workers Compensation Programs generally disputes cause of injury more than the injury’s existence. Many doctors are not concerned with cause, they are simply interested in treating the condition and returning the patient to a pre-injury state if possible. In a federal workers compensation claim, cause may be the most important factor in determining the acceptance of the claim.

The OWCP will not approve any treatment or compensation payments for lost time if the medical condition claimed is not accepted under the file. Finding a doctor who is familiar with the federal workers compensation system can be very difficult. We are trying to compile the most complete list of doctors who both understand and pursue federal employees. Use your zip code and search for a local doctor to help you get on your way to recovery.

Adding Doctors’ office numbers

Friday, October 7th, 2011

One way that we help the physicians on our site is assistance with the patient inquiry process. Remember that we do not offer any treatment ourselves, we simply help you find the best federal doctors available. Our telephone number can be used to ask questions and talk about particular care providers who might be a good fit for you.

You may notice that we are adding the direct office numbers to many of the member doctors listed on the site. Our goal is that you get in touch with the right federal doctors, the ones who really know the OWCP and how the federal workers compensation offices process claims. That is why we are now including the direct line to the doctors’ offices on their listings.

Be sure to tell them that you found out about them here at FedDoctor.com. We want everyone to know that we are trying to help federal employees and OWCP doctors make the connection that can mean the difference in an accepted and denied OWCP claim. Benefits from the federal workers compensation district offices can be fickle at best and downright difficult in many cases. If you have experience dealing with an on-the-job injury claim, you probably understand how important a competent doctor is when it comes to interacting with the OWCP.

Take the time to look around. This site is designed to help you, the federal employee, find the doctor that can make your federal workers compensation claim work.

Leave us your info!

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

We keep any and all information left by site visitors private and confidential. If we do not have a doctor listed in your commuting area, leave us your contact info and we will let you know when we do! This helps you stay informed on what’s happening in the federal workers compensation world and know when a local doctor has been located to help you with your OWCP claim.

If you are currently being treated by a doctor who is getting paid by OWCP, please tell us who they are! They might be interested in helping more federal employees with OWCP claims and medical conditions. We would be happy to talk with them to see if they are interested in helping more federal employees and being a part of the solution to a nationwide problem.

We have the experience and understanding of the OWCP and federal workers comp medical treatment issues that many federal employees face on a daily basis. We want to help doctors become aware of how they can get more business while helping those who are in desperate need.

Subscribe to our blog, follow us @FedDoctor on Twitter, and Like our Facebook page. Tell your union brothers and sisters that help has arrived.

Don’t take a chance, get a federal doctor who is on your side! Visit FedDoctor.com today!

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