Revised Assessment Guide for Attendant Care Designated

The Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) is pleased to provide, for your information, the revised assessment guide for Attendant Care Designated Assessment Centres (DACs) and a revised roster of Attendant Care DACs, which includes the DACs authorized to conduct assessments.

Attendant Care Designated Assessment Centre Assessment Guide

The Minister’s Committee on the DAC system, whose mandate is to assist DACs in providing neutral, comprehensive, timely and cost-effective assessments, has recommended the implementation of the revised assessment guide in respect to Attendant Care DAC referrals received after December 15, 2000.

The Minister’s Committee has been able to successfully address several systemic issues through this assessment guide including:

• helping DACs identify and focus on the issues in dispute.
  
  
• instructing DACs how to determine the type and the number of health care professionals required to assess the claimant. It is expected that no more than one health care professional will be required to assess a claimant in most situations.

Additionally, the Minister’s Committee has been able to address other systemic issues through the assessment guide. These include:

• the requirement to release both a narrative report and Form 1 in the DAC report. The narrative report has been structured to articulate the assessors’ professional judgment as well as their opinions and findings.
  
  
• cost and time efficiencies to allow for a file paper review option if the only issue in dispute is causation.
  
  
• the focus of an Attendant Care DAC on providing an opinion on the issues in dispute and not broadening the scope of the assessment unnecessarily, or beyond its mandate.

A fundamental change in this assessment guide is the establishment of a baseline for human resource criteria for all types of Attendant Care DACs. The assessment guide requires that all Attendant Care DACs have sufficient physical and human resources to provide an opinion on the most common attendant care needs required by a claimant as a result of a motor vehicle accident.

The revised assessment guide, attached to this document, is entitled Attendant Care Designated Assessment Centre Assessment Guide: A Guide to Conducting Attendant Care DAC Assessments - December 2000 and replaces Ontario Insurance Commission Guidelines for Designated Assessment Centres to Conduct Assessments for Accidents on or after November 1, 1996.

Update DAC Roster

The attached revised DAC roster pages, dated December 2000, for the Roster of Designated Assessment Centres in the Province of Ontario - September 2000, identifies all Attendant Care DAC locations in the province that have met the new requirements of the Attendant Care DAC Assessment Guide. Please replace the Attendant Care DAC sections of the DAC roster, dated September 2000 with these inserts. Changes to the roster are made on an ongoing basis and users of the system should always refer to the most up-to-date version of the DAC Roster, posted on FSCO’s website, at www.fsco.gov.on.ca.

These new documents reflect the ongoing commitment of FSCO and the Minister’s Committee to ensure that the DAC system is fair, accessible, timely and cost-effective.

Please ensure that the information contained in this bulletin is brought to the attention of your ADR Coordinator.

For More Information and to Provide Feedback

Questions about this bulletin should be directed to FSCO's Accident Benefits Analysis Unit at (416) 590-7137 or 1-800-668-0128 extension 7137. The fax number is (416) 590-7265. Written feedback regarding the Cancellation Fee Schedule for Disability DAC assessments can be faxed to the above number or forwarded to:

Accident Benefits Analysis Unit
Financial Services Commission of Ontario
5160 Yonge Street, Box 85
North York ON M2N 6L9

Dina Palozzi
Chief Executive Officer and
Superintendent of Financial Services
November 28, 2000

Attachments:

• Attendant Care Designated Assessment Centre Assessment Guide: A Guide to Conducting Attendant Care DAC Assessments - December 2000
• Roster of Designated Assessment Centres in the Province of Ontario - September 2000