An Agreed Medical Evaluator (AME) is a physician selected by mutual agreement between your attorney and the claims administrator to conduct an Independent Medical Evaluation. This process bypasses the state system typically used to select a Qualified Medical Evaluator (QME). When both parties agree, an AME provides a crucial medical evaluation to resolve disputes in workers’ compensation cases without involving the California QME selection process.
A Qualified Medical Evaluator (QME) is chosen from a state-certified list of doctors issued by the DWC Medical Unit, with lists generated randomly. An Agreed Medical Evaluator (AME) is used when you have an attorney, and once you see an AME, you cannot see a QME. An AME physician can perform a medical evaluation regardless of the year of injury and may or may not be a QME. Both AMEs and QMEs play a key role in resolving workers’ compensation medical disputes.