As published by the California DWC, a Qualified Medical Evaluator (QME) is a physician (including psychologist, podiatrist, chiropractors), who evaluates an injured worker when there are questions if an injury occurred as a result of their employment and about what benefits they should receive.

 

QME’s examine injured workers evaluate disability and write medical-legal reports. The reports are used to determine an injured worker's eligibility for workers' compensation benefits. QME’s include medical doctors, doctors of osteopathy, doctors of chiropractic, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists, psychologists and acupuncturists.

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A physician must meet educational and licensing requirements to qualify as a QME. They must also pass a test and participate in ongoing education on the workers' compensation evaluation process.

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The QME process is designed to provide a neutral expert to evaluate if an injury arose as a result of employment and to rate the degree of injury, if present. This provides a valuable role to the injured worker in obtaining needed care,