Five Tips for Oral Argument

 I have listened to a large number of oral arguments over the past several years. For the most part they have been well done. I offer the following five tips for your consideration to improve your making an effective argument before the Commission.

1.   Write the Brief

Your best preparation for the argument is to write the appellate brief. This will require you to be completely familiar with the facts and law relating to the case.

2.   Prepare a Detailed Outline – Then Get Rid of It

Knowing you won’t have a detailed outline to lean on will help your preparation to be more complete. Your presentation will be much more effective if you make eye contact with the Commissioners hearing the appeal. You only have ten minutes to argue so this should be achievable.

3.   Get Your Opening Sentence Right

This is harder to do than you might think. If you are able to distill your argument into one compelling opening sentence your listeners will have no doubt about the direction of your argument. This will also allow you to focus on what is important.

Moving Forward: EDI

The Administrative Workers’ Compensation Act requires the Workers’ Compensation Commission to implement an electronic data interchange system, providing a more efficient way to submit the employer information which is currently reported on WCC forms, as well as other relevant data concerning the Oklahoma workers’ compensation system.  The Commissioners are pleased to announce that the WCC is fulfilling that statutory obligation by its adoption of the most recent (Release 3) Standards Issued by the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC).  Beginning January 1, 2018, all data previously submitted via CC-Form-2, CC-Form-2A, CC-Form-2A Extension, and CC-Form-4 will be electronically filed.

 The fundamental goal of EDI is to provide more accurate, meaningful, and comprehensive information to the WCC’s trading partners (insurers, self-insured employers, and claim administrators), improving claims management and cost containment.  EDI accomplishes this goal by providing a means of reporting, which facilitates a more consistent provision of payment and other claims information.  The new reporting framework will promote accountability to report accurately and timely, improving the efficacy of the data for all trading partners. 

EDI has numerous advantages over paper reporting that should result in an increase in the quality of the data received and produced by the Commission, and greater reporting efficiency including:           

·       Easier and faster reporting; SFTP data transfers will allow high-volume users to report more efficiently;

·       A more reliable duplicate-checking process; Commission personnel currently use certain match criteria to ascertain whether a first report of injury or payment report has already been submitted, but automation of this process will result in fewer errors;  

·       Reduction of errors that result from manual data entry;

·       Reduction of expenses related to paper, including printing, postage, and storage; and

·       Eliminating the need for Commission personnel to return forms with missing or incomplete information; the postage associated with such returns, and the time and postage spent by trading partners correcting these errors, which can be costly.  This includes the elimination of errors due to illegible handwriting or illegible faxes.

The Commissioners anticipate the reaching of this milestone with great optimism, and look forward to working with all trading partners in implementing and refining this new reporting system to the advantage of all.

Medical Director's Update

Medical Director Jay P. Cannon

We frequently receive questions concerning the Medical Fee Schedule both in the Medical Director’s office and in the Counselor’s office.It sometimes requires research to answer these questions and for the sake of consistency we will now ask that all questions be submitted to the fee schedule email address, feeschedule@wcc.ok.gov.

I presented a Medical Director Update this month at the Uber Health Care Group in Tulsa.  I reviewed important subjects covered at the Annual Conference in October. Subjects covered included 6th Edition of the AMA Guides, Medical Fee Schedule review which was done this year, Supreme Court decisions affecting Workers’ Compensation, and Medical Fee Dispute Resolution.  Fifteen physicians attended and the Uber Health Care Group welcomed physicians not in their group to attend. The Commissioners have decided that this type program will satisfy the requirement of the Workers’ Compensation Commission Rules that physicians must attend education provided by the Commission every two years to remain eligible to serve as an Independent Medical Examiner. Groups interested in hosting such a program in their facility should contact Jay Cannon, MD at jay.cannon@wcc.ok.gov.

To assure the process is completed quickly when submitting an application for Independent Medical Examiners, providing complete and accurate information is essential.  Among other required documents, the CC-Form- 463(Application for Independent Medical Examiners) and a CC-Form-17 (Physician Disclosure Statement) must be completed. Regarding the CC-Form -17, do not use not applicable (N/A)! Please write NONE in any blank space rather than N/A. For full instructions on how to become a IME, please see our website www.ok.gov/wcc. I wish you Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday, and a Happy New Year.