Division of Workers’ Compensation Announces Meeting Which Discussed Electronic Adjudication Management System

Oakland, CA  (CompNewsNetwork) - The Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) hosted a public meeting at its Oakland headquarters to discuss the compatibility of the Electronic Adjudication Management System (EAMS) with other software programs. More than 70 people attended this session about how implementation of the division’s new case management program will affect workers’ compensation system users.

"We are partnering with the public in a series of continuing discussions to make EAMS even better," said DWC Court Administrator Keven Star. "We recognize system users bring a lot to the table and want to be sure they are part of the process."

The meeting focused on two topics: submitting forms in the EAMS environment and the effect of EAMS on the electronic data exchange system (EDEX). This is important to software vendors as well as system users who have developed technology over the years to improve the way they interact with the system.

While EDEX will not continue in its current format because case information will be stored in EAMS"not the WCAB online system that currently feeds EDEX"the DWC is committed to ensuring an accountable and secure means of providing permissible information to requestors continues to be available when EAMS goes live.

"The DWC indicated its willingness to work together to come up with a joint platform that will take the place of EDEX," said California Applicants Attorney’s Association President Sue Borg.

Several options for an EDEX-like replacement were discussed and an advisory group is being formed on the topic. Additionally, EAMS includes a general public search function, which allows users to search for case information by case number, injured worker name, date of birth, date of injury, address or employer name at no cost.

At the meeting the division also detailed how new forms will be implemented that employ optical character recognition (OCR) that allows scanners to read information from the forms and use it to populate EAMS case files.

The use of OCR forms is the first step in phasing external users into EAMS in a responsible and thoughtful manner. Once the system is up and running for DWC internal users, the division will begin bringing external users into the full electronic environment over time.

"I do believe the phased-in implementation is better and more palatable for our membership," said Borg.

More information on EAMS can be found on line at www.dwc.ca.gov/eams. Interested parties can also sign up to receive the division’s EAMS newsletter by writing to eams@dir.ca.gov and putting "Insider Subscription" in the subject line.

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