Georgia WC-P1 Panel of Physicians: Posting, Updates, and Exceptions

Georgia’s WC-P1 is the form employers use to publish their Traditional Panel of Physicians under the state’s workers’ compensation system, and every covered employer must complete it, post it, and keep it current so injured workers know which doctors they can see. Download the fillable PDF free from the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation, list at least six qualifying providers, add your employer and insurer details, and display the completed form alongside the Workers’ Compensation Bill of Rights (WC-BOR) where employees will see it. A panel that falls short on composition or posting gives an injured employee the right to treat with any physician at the employer’s expense, so the details below are worth working through carefully.¹

Where to Get the WC-P1

The WC-P1 lives on the State Board of Workers’ Compensation’s Board Forms page as a fillable PDF. You can type your entries on screen before printing, or print a blank and fill it in by hand.² If you cannot locate the form or have questions while completing it, the Board’s call center can help at 404-656-3818 or 1-800-533-0682.

Who Has to Be on the Panel

O.C.G.A. § 34-9-201 and Board Rule 201 set the composition standards. This is the part that trips employers up most often, so treat it as a checklist before you type any names into the form.

At least six physicians, professional associations, or corporations of physicians who are reasonably accessible to your employees. The Board may grant an exception if you can show that more than four providers are not reasonably accessible to your workplace.¹
At least one physician who specializes in orthopedic surgery.¹
No more than two industrial clinics on the panel.¹
One minority physician, meaning a member of a group subjected to prejudice based on race, color, sex, handicap, or national origin. The same physician can fill this slot and another required slot; your orthopedic surgeon, for instance, may also be your minority physician. Omitting a minority physician does not automatically invalidate the panel, but the Board reserves the right to review compliance.³
Every listed provider must be reasonably accessible to employees. Georgia law does not fix a mileage or travel-time limit, so use judgment. A doctor three hours from the worksite would not pass. If you run multiple locations, think about how employees at each one would reach the listed providers.

Six is a floor, not a cap. You may list more providers, and many employers do. The orthopedic surgeon requirement, the two-industrial-clinic limit, and the minority physician rule all still apply.³

Filling Out the Form

Before entering names, confirm that each physician or clinic holds a current Georgia license and will actually accept workers’ compensation patients. A provider who refuses to treat an injured employee creates a gap in your panel. Board Rule 201 requires the employer to add an additional physician for each refusal when an employee has already been treated by another panel doctor.³

For each provider, enter the full legal name, physical address, and telephone number. Injured employees rely on these entries to schedule care, so verify every phone number and address before printing. If a provider has multiple offices, list the location closest to your workplace.

The form also asks for your business name and the name and contact information of your workers’ compensation insurance carrier or third-party administrator, including the policy number or claims-filing address. Medical providers use this information to bill the insurer directly, and mistakes here cause payment delays and disputes that complicate an employee’s claim.

Posting the Panel

Georgia law requires you to post the completed WC-P1 in prominent places on the business premises and to take all reasonable measures to help employees understand how the panel works and their right to choose a physician from it.¹ Break rooms, spots near time clocks, and the notice board where federal labor posters already hang are all sensible locations.

Post the WC-BOR alongside the panel. Board Rule 81.1 ties the two documents together, and posting the panel without the Bill of Rights leaves a gap in employee notice.³ The WC-BOR is on the same Board Forms page as the WC-P1.²

If the Board has granted any exceptions to your panel requirements, post those exceptions in the same location as the panel.³

Electronic Posting

You may also publish the WC-P1 and WC-BOR electronically through a company website or a free application. If you do, provide employees with the web address or app name and clear access instructions, and offer an alternative way to view the panel for any employee without internet access. Electronic posting supplements the physical requirement. It does not replace it. The printed panel must still be displayed at the workplace.³

Explaining the Panel to Employees

Posting alone does not satisfy the statute. Employers must take reasonable measures to help employees understand how the panel functions and assist them in contacting a panel physician when an injury occurs.¹ Walk new hires through the posted panel during orientation, remind existing staff where it is, and when an injury happens, point the employee to the panel and help them reach one of the listed providers.

What Happens if the Panel Is Wrong

If the employer fails to meet any of the composition or posting requirements, the injured employee gains the right to see any physician at the employer’s expense.¹ That open-ended liability costs far more than the effort of building the panel correctly the first time.

Keeping the Panel Current

Physicians retire, relocate, and drop out of workers’ compensation networks. When a provider leaves your panel for any reason, replace them so the panel stays at or above six and still meets the orthopedic surgeon, industrial clinic, and minority physician rules. The replacement has to be reasonably accessible to your employees, same as the original.

Do not cross out names or handwrite corrections on a posted WC-P1. Generate a new form with the updated list, print it, and swap it in at every posting location the same day the old one comes down. An injured worker who visits a provider no longer on your panel creates billing and liability problems for everyone. Keep copies of prior panels with the dates each was posted and replaced. That paper trail demonstrates continuous compliance if the Board or a claimant’s attorney ever asks how your panel has evolved.

When the WC-P1 Does Not Apply

The traditional panel is not the only route. Under O.C.G.A. § 34-9-201(b)(2), a self-insured employer or workers’ compensation insurer may instead contract with a managed care organization certified by the Board under § 34-9-208, and employees covered by that contract receive medical care through the MCO’s network.¹ Employers using an MCO do not use the WC-P1. They post a notice with the MCO’s name, effective date, geographic service area by county, administrator telephone number and address, and a toll-free 24-hour phone number employees can call to access care.³ The traditional panel composition rules do not govern that arrangement; the MCO’s certification standards do.

1
Justia. Georgia Code 34-9-201 – Selection of Physician From Panel of Physicians
2
State Board of Workers’ Compensation. State Board of Workers’ Compensation Board Forms
3
Justia. Georgia Code 201 – Panel of Physicians