Panel Qualified Medical Evaluator (PQME)

What a panel QME is

A panel QME is the Qualified Medical Evaluator selected from a list of three that the DWC Medical Unit issues for a specialty. Practitioners say "PQME" to separate this doctor from an AME chosen by agreement.

The rule

For a represented employee, either party can request a panel no earlier than the first working day at least 10 days after a request for evaluation or an objection under Labor Code sections 4060, 4061 or 4062 was mailed. The requesting party names the specialty and serves the request on the other side. Within 10 days of the panel's assignment, each side may strike one name, and the remaining doctor is the evaluator. If a party doesn't strike in time, the other party may pick any doctor left on the panel. The employee arranges the appointment and must tell the employer within 10 days of selection, or the employer may schedule it (Labor Code section 4062.2). An unrepresented worker instead picks one doctor from the panel within 10 days (Labor Code section 4062.1). An objection to a treating doctor's report is due within 20 days of receipt in a represented case (Labor Code section 4062).

Why it matters to an applicant firm

Every step runs on a short clock: the objection, the panel request, the strike, the appointment notice and the 20-day records service. A missed strike gives the defense the pick. High-volume firms keep a dated list of open panels and strike deadlines so none lapses. See the QME and AME process guide.