Metro Atlanta Medical Facility Closing its Doors

Written by: Dale Slemons, Esq.

We were recently notified that Premier Immediate Care will be closing both its local offices this summer. This will be permanent closure for the Lawrenceville office on June 30, 2016 and the Suwanee office on July 15, 2016. The following link: http://www.pic.md/ will lead you to their website and specific directives as to what to do with regard to obtaining medical records, medication refills, outstanding invoices and referral to other physicians.

As you know, O.C.G.A. § 34-9-201(b)(1) requires that the employer maintain a list of six (6) physicians or professional associations or corporations of physicians who are reasonably accessible to the employee. Should either of these Premier Immediate Care facilities be listed on your panel, you will need to update your panel prior to the closure dates. Failure to update your panel could result in your panel being invalidated by an Administrative Law Judge and your losing control of the medical treatment in your workers’ compensation claims. Clearly this would be adverse to your interest and can oftentimes result in the claimant chosing a physician that will increase the cost of your claims and thus make it more difficult to resolve claims via settlement.

Should you require any advice regarding this or any other closure or ensuring that your panel is valid, please do not hesitate to give us a call.