WA Department of Labor & Industries Prologues 3rd Party Recording Service
Independent medical examinations (“IME”) are a frequently used and critical tool in the administration/processing of workers’ compensation claims. In 2023 clamor for change related to the use (and alleged abuse) of these examinations resulted in the WA State Legislature’s passage of SHB 1068, which amended RCW 51.36.070 to include a worker’s right to record their IMEs. The rule now provides workers with the right to record examinations while at the same time precluding the independent examiners from co-recording the examination without the worker’s prior approval/consent.
Tweaks to RCW 51.36.070 in the intervening years have provided some additional requirement/limitations including that the worker or the worker’s representative must provide notice to the entity scheduling the examination that the examination will be recorded no less than seven (7) calendar days before the date of the examination. See RCW 51.36.070(4)(b). Additionally, the worker may not materially alter the recording and benefits received as a result of any such material alteration of the recording by the worker or done on the worker’s behalf may be subject to repayment. See RCW 51.36.070(4)(f).
However, questions about misuse and general discomfort remain related to these recordings. In an ongoing effort to assuage the reasonable concerns of those involved, the Department enacted a pilot program in early 2025 to explore the feasibility of offering a third-party recording service to workers through Medical Memory, thereby limiting the potential complications presented by workers’ self-recording. The Department’s program successfully ran from March through February of 2026. Prior to the enacting the pilot, the Department’s internal data gathering indicated that over 50% of State Fund IMEs that generated a request to record by the worker were canceled. Between the start of the pilot program in March 2025 and November 2025, the Department’s cancelation rate on State Fund exams with a request to record was 14.1%.
The Department recently determined the program is in sufficient demand to warrant extending the third-party recording option through February 28, 2027. While workers are not required to make use of the third-party option, the Department has stated that Medical Memory’s recording system is completely secure and “meets the high standards of both federal and state privacy laws.” Additional information including further details regarding the system/application security and the storage of recordings can be found on Medical Memory’s website.
The Department’s program is a great resource and alternative option that helps workers get the recording they want while at the same time giving workers engaged in the workers’ compensation process the assurances represented by a neutral recording of an examination that impacts claim processing activity/decisions. As IMEs are being scheduled, it is a good reminder to offer workers and their attorneys this option in the event they are interested in recording the IME.
If you have any questions about this pilot program, please contact me at , or at (971) 383-2845.
Posted by Chris Perea.
