Physician review for the defense.
Workers’ compensation utilization review and defense life care planning. Records-based, remote, in 21 states.
Retained by workers’ compensation carriers, third-party administrators, and defense counsel. No plaintiff work is accepted.
The practice does two things.
Nothing else. Both are conducted for the defense, on the documentary record, without contact with the injured worker or claimant.
Workers’ compensation utilization review and file review.
Medical-necessity opinions on requested treatment, peer review, and cold file review, prepared as written reports for carrier, third-party administrator, and defense-counsel use. The determination states what the record does and does not support, measured against the applicable treatment guidelines, and discloses the reasoning rather than the conclusion alone.
Records-based and remote. No independent medical examination is performed and no physician–patient relationship is created.
- Spine and radiculopathy
- EMG / nerve conduction studies
- Epidural and facet injections
- Radiofrequency ablation
- Spinal cord stimulation
- Chronic pain and opioid management
- PM&R and rehabilitation
- Post-surgical and functional recovery
Defense life care planning.
Rebuttal of an opposing life care plan, and independently prepared defense life care plans, for defense counsel and carriers. Each future-care item is traced to what the record supports; where the record does not support an item, the report says so rather than filling the gap by inference.
Prepared by a Certified Life Care Planner who is also board-certified in the treating specialty for the underlying conditions — the medical foundation and the plan are one opinion, from one witness. Records-based and remote.
Credentials.
Every credential below is Dr. Kao’s personally. The full curriculum vitae is on the CV page.
- Board certified
- Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and Interventional Pain Medicine (American Board of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation).
- Life care planning
- Certified Life Care Planner.
- Licensure
- Active medical licensure in 21 states.
- Workers’ comp
- New York Workers’ Compensation Board authorization #278489-01 · Colorado Workers’ Compensation Level I accreditation.
- Directory
- SEAK Expert Witness Directory [PLACEHOLDER: SEAK profile URL]
- Identifier
- NPI 1164130985
Engagement.
Fees do not vary by opinion or by outcome.
Retention begins with a conflict check. Send the case caption, the parties, and the retaining firm or carrier before any records are reviewed. Conflicts are cleared in writing before an engagement is accepted.
The published fee schedule applies to both service lines.