QME Panel Selection. 8 CCR § 31

(a) The panels shall be selected randomly from the appropriate specialty identified by the party who holds the legal right to designate the specialty, with consideration given to the proximity of the QME's medical office to the employee's residence. (b) The Medical Director shall exclude from the panel selection process any QME who has informed the Medical Director that he or she is unavailable pursuant to section 33 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations. (c) Any physician who has served as a primary treating physician or secondary physician and who has provided treatment to the employee in accordance with section 9785 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations for the disputed injury shall not perform a QME evaluation on that employee. Whenever that physician's name appears on a QME panel, he or she shall disqualify him or herself if contacted by a party to perform the evaluation. Either party may request a replacement QME for this reason pursuant to section 31.5 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations. (d) To issue a panel in a selected specialty there shall be at least five active QMEs in the specialty at the time the panel selection is requested. In the event less than five QMEs are active in a requested specialty, the Medical Director shall contact the party who holds the legal right to designate the specialty for an alternate specialty selection.