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Medical providers can begin enrolling in Washington's new medical network. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor and Industries is finalizing rules to implement structured settlement agreements. Both changes came as a result of separate legislation enacted in 2011.

The Bureau of Workers' Compensation proposed amendments to rules regarding the comprehensive discount program that focuses on return to work for injured workers.

The Division of Workers' Compensation proposed amendments to a rule clarifying that an insurer must provide health care providers with prior notification of a decision to apply apportionment in the payment of reimbursement for medical services.

As workers' comp stakeholders look for solutions to opioid abuse among injured workers, state legislatures are increasingly getting into the discussion. New Mexico is among the latest to consider legislation to curb opioid prescriptions throughout the state's health care system.

A federal agency hopes to conduct a study to estimate underreporting of injuries and illnesses among individuals who seek care in emergency departments.

The Division of Industrial Relations, Workers' Compensation Section amended the medical fee schedule.

Fatalities from falls are the number one cause of workplace construction deaths. Accordingly, OSHA announced a new directive that was due to take effect March 15.

The Compensation Rating Bureau issued a circular regarding the take-out credit program, which allows a carrier to obtain credits against its pool participation.

Improvements in education, technical support, and regulatory enforcement could lead to fewer workers suffering hearing loss on the job. That's among the conclusions in a special supplemental issue of the International Journal of Audiology.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced that Louisiana has become the 13th state to join the effort to clamp down on the improper classification of employees as independent contractors. The state signed a memorandum of understanding last month.

The Bureau of Workers' Compensation proposed rules allowing the establishment of a coordinated services program that requires injured workers to obtain prescription medications reimbursed by the bureau from a single designated pharmacy or prescriber.

The Department of Labor and Industries adopted rules addressing the amendment to a statute that provides permanent funding for the Safety and Health Investment Projects Grants Program.

The annual cumulative dose and cost of opioids per workers' comp claim increased substantially from 1999 to 2011, according to a new study. The driving factor was the increased volume of longer-acting opioids to treat chronic pain.

"The Legislature finds that certain employers, by virtue of the number of employees employed by the employers or the nature and type of the work undertaken by their employees, are experiencing significant costs associated with occupational injuries subject to the Workers' Compensation Code." Thus begins an explanation for the development of a proposed alternative to workers' comp for Oklahoma employers.

The Division of Workers' Compensation proposed amendments to a rule regarding notices of denial.