To Whom It May Concern,

Attempting to obtain an unbiased and objective medical opinion from the Alberta WCB is becoming increasingly problematic. When this issue was brought forward, former Minister of Employment and Immigration Thomas Lukaszuk stated on Alberta Primetime that, “there is an independent panel of doctors under the offices of Dr. Olhaueser. He hires 3 independent doctors from anywhere in Alberta that have never had anything to do with that particular file. Those 3 doctors examine the patient and the file and make a final decision. The case manager, the AC, or the treating medical physician can request an independent medical review...routinely they are not requested.” However, this in fact is not necessarily true.

We received a letter recently from the Office of the Medical Panel Commissioner regarding an upcoming medical panel for one of our clients. Dr. Ohlhauser indicates that although we had “indicated a no to Dr. Sperka and Dr. Cowell, they will remain on the Panel. They have confirmed no conflict of interest on this file”. It is not their relationship with the specific file that we are concerned about. Dr. Sperka was a case manager at the WCB before taking a leave of absence to go back to school to advance in his medical profession. Now Dr. Sperka performs Independent medical examinations (IME’s) for the WCB. Throughout most of the 1990’s, Dr. Cowell served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Workers' Compensation Board Alberta. He was also the head medical advisor of the Board for a period of time prior to holding this title. It is stated in the Office of the Medical Panels Commissioner Code of Conduct that “the Commissioner and staff performing the work of the Agency considering a new offer of appointment or employment must be aware of and manage any potential conflicts of interest between their current position and their future circumstance, and must remove themselves from any decisions affecting their new appointment or employment.” Thus, it is in these associations the doctors have with the Alberta WCB that we are concerned as to whether they are appropriate and completely objective in a situation such as a medical panel. 

Furthermore, the letter from the Medical Panel Office states that “the questions for the Panel to consider are prepared by the requesting body, the WCB. They reflect the medical issues and that there is a difference of opinion on this file. They will not be changed.” The questions are decided on by the WCB. This is not an objective approach and if medical panels wish to be thought of as just and independent they must truly be separated from the WCB in all possible regards. The worker’s representative has no say in what the questions are or how the questions are worded nor are they allowed to pose any additional questions. There is nothing in the Medical Panel legislation that addresses the issue of the questions to be used by the medical panel and this too causes problems and subjectivity in this process.

The medical panels exist to “provide the WCB and the Appeals Commission with an impartial, independent decision making process to resolve medical issues that affect a claimant’s right to compensation”. Additionally their code of conduct states that one of their core values is that “the commissioner and staff performing the work of the Agency act with impartiality and integrity.” In order to fulfill this role, medical panels should be completely separate and distinct like that of the Appeals Commission. How are injured workers supposed to rest assured that there is an independent process in place to objectively assess their health when the medical panels are not at all separate from the WCB? Any doctors involved with the WCB in any regard, whether it be from previously providing IME’s or being a former associate or employee of the Board, should not be permitted to be a medical panel member. Furthermore, the questions should not be posed by the WCB medical department and rather should be decided upon by an external and objective body. There needs to be more objective measures in place so the worker feels a fair process was used in every aspect of the review; especially because the medical panel decision is final and binding which ultimately influences the worker’s life.

We urge you to think about this issue and consider what can be done to reach resolution.  Thank you for your time we look forward to hearing from you regarding your actions on the topic of an independent medical panel.  

Regards