What the panel ordered
The October 18, 2006 Finding and Order is affirmed, allowing defendant to require applicant to obtain medical treatment within its Medical Provider Network regardless of the date of injury or award.
Applicant petitioned for reconsideration of the October 18, 2006 Finding and Order by the WCJ regarding medical treatment within defendant's Medical Provider Network (MPN). The case was assigned en banc for uniformity of decision.
What was disputed, and how it came out
Each issue the panel decided, with the reasoning it gave. An outcome is what this panel did on this record — not a rule, and not a prediction.
The Appeals Board held that the MPN statutes represent a procedural change allowing transfer of medical treatment into an authorized MPN regardless of injury or award date, and that such transfer does not alter or rescind prior awards but changes only the manner of furnishing treatment.
From the decision · page 21 We hold that a defendant may satisfy its obligation under Labor Code section 4600 to
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.