What Records Will My Centennial Chiropractor Provide for My Workers' Comp Claim?
Home / Blog / What Records Will My Centennial Chiropractor Provide for My Workers' Comp Claim?
By Butler Family Health Center · Published 2026-11-04 · Last updated 2026-11-04
Your Centennial chiropractor will keep a dated, signed note for every visit on your workers' comp claim. Each note covers your diagnosis, the exam findings behind it, the care you received and, when the chiropractor is your authorized treating physician, any change to your work restrictions. In that role, the chiropractor also completes the state's WC 164 report, a summary for the insurer. Colorado law gives you a copy of any report sent to your employer or insurer.
Butler Family Health Center accepts workers' compensation cases, and our work injury chiropractor in Centennial page explains how we care for work injuries. This article names each record, who receives it, how to get your own copy and how much of your history stays private.
This is general information, not legal advice. Your adjuster or an attorney can answer questions about the rules on your specific claim.
The Treatment Notes a Centennial Chiropractor Keeps on a Work Injury Claim
Treatment notes from a Centennial chiropractor on a work injury claim must cover a set list of items for every visit billed, under Division of Workers' Compensation Rule 16. The provider who gave the care signs each note, and electronic signatures count.
At a minimum, each note shows:
- your name and the date of treatment
- the name and professional designation of the person who treated you
- the assessment or diagnosis, with objective findings to support it
- the treatment provided
- the treatment plan, when one applies
- any change to work or activity restrictions, when the authorized treating physician writes the note
How Do the Notes Tie Your Injury to the Job You Do?
The notes tie your injury to your job through three things: your own account of how it happened, the objective findings from the exam and the restrictions that follow. The WC 164 form has a section for the worker's account of the injury, so what you tell us at the first visit carries into the claim.
Give us specifics. A mechanic at Centennial Airport can name the task, the part and the time of day.
The Colorado WC 164 Report and Who Receives Each Record
The Colorado WC 164, the Physician's Report of Workers' Compensation Injury, is the state form that summarizes your care for the insurer. It comes in three types: initial, progress and closing.
Its sections cover your account of the injury, work status, work related diagnoses, the plan of care with restrictions, follow-up and referrals, maximum medical improvement (MMI) and impairment. The form says a copy must go to the injured worker and the insurer. An attached narrative report does not replace it.
Under Division Rule 16, the authorized treating physician signs and submits a completed WC 164 to the payer within 14 days of the initial visit and of the final visit. You get a copy once it is completed, at no charge. Rule 16 counts chiropractors among the providers it defines as physicians, and your adjuster can confirm who holds the authorized treating physician role on your claim.
| Record | What it shows | Who gets it |
|---|---|---|
| Treatment note (every visit) | Name, date, provider, diagnosis with objective findings, treatment, plan, restriction changes | Kept in your chart to support each bill; you can request a copy |
| WC 164, initial | Your account of the injury, work status, diagnoses, plan and restrictions | The insurer and you, within 14 days of the first visit |
| WC 164, progress | Updated work status, restrictions, follow-up and referrals | The insurer and you |
| WC 164, closing | Maximum medical improvement and impairment | The insurer and you, within 14 days of the final visit |
| Narrative report | Added detail attached to the WC 164 | Travels with the form; it does not replace it |
| Any report sent to your employer, insurer or the Division | Whatever that report covers | You, at the same time they receive it |
| Written record of a talk with your employer or insurer | What was said when you were not in the room | You can see it |
- If you were hurt this week at an office in the Denver Tech Center or a worksite in Inverness, then call Butler Family Health Center for a same-day appointment so your first dated note sits close to the injury date.
- If your supervisor asks what you can do on shift, then ask us for the restrictions written in your latest visit note.
- If your adjuster says a report is missing, then call our office so we can check your file.
The Work Status and Restrictions Your Chiropractor Puts in Writing
The work restrictions in your chiropractic records describe what your body can handle on the job while you recover. Rule 16 names the kinds of limits that belong in the note when the authorized treating physician changes them: lifting, standing, stooping, kneeling, hot or cold settings, repetitive motion and other physical considerations. The WC 164 also has a current work status section.
Specific limits matter most in jobs that mix these demands. A bus driver for Cherry Creek Public Schools and a custodian for Littleton Public Schools can both have a back strain, yet one may need limits on sitting time and the other a lifting cap.
Can Your Chiropractor Speak With Your Employer or Adjuster?
Your chiropractor can speak with your employer or adjuster, but Colorado sets conditions. Under C.R.S. 8-43-404, a treating physician may communicate with the employer or insurer only when you are present, or when the physician makes an accurate written record of the conversation and gives you access to it.
The same statute entitles your employer to reports from a physician or chiropractor you chose to treat the injury. It also entitles you to a copy of any report at the same time it goes to the employer, the insurer or the Division.
How Getting Your Own Records Copy Works in Centennial
Getting your own copy of your chiropractic records in Centennial starts with a written request, and federal privacy law sets the clock. Under 45 CFR 164.524, a provider must act on your request within 30 days of receiving it, with one 30-day extension allowed if you get a written reason.
The fee is limited to a reasonable, cost-based amount for copying labor, supplies and postage. You can also ask for an electronic copy in the form you want, when it is readily producible.
To request records from our office:
- Write down what you need (visit notes, WC 164 reports, narrative reports or billing records) and the date range.
- Ask for electronic copies if you plan to forward them to your adjuster.
- Bring the request to our office at 6500 S Quebec St #250 in Peakview Center, or call or text (303) 741-2444 to ask how to send it instead.
- Ask for your WC 164 copy after the initial and final visits, since you are owed one when it is completed.
What Happens to Your Records If You Change Physicians Mid-Claim?
If you change your authorized treating physician partway through a claim, your earlier physician must send your records to the new physician within seven calendar days of the request. Both C.R.S. 8-43-404 and Division Rule 8 set that deadline.
The change itself has rules. Within 90 days of the injury, and before MMI, you can request a one-time change of authorized treating physician, and the insurer has 20 days to respond. Where your employer never provided a provider list, Rule 8 lets you select an authorized treating physician or chiropractor of your choosing.
If you are weighing a change, talk to your adjuster before the 90 days run out.
How Much of Your Health History the Insurer and Employer Can See
The insurer and employer on a Centennial work injury claim see the records tied to the injury, not your whole health history. Colorado's waiver of privilege reaches communications about the medical issues the claim raises. Federal privacy law allows a provider to share health information as authorized by workers' compensation laws, to the extent needed to comply with them.
The claim file at the Division is open for inspection by the parties: you, your employer, the insurer and their attorneys.
The test is whether a record relates to the medical issues your claim raises, and the rule is the same statewide. If you have had care for the same body part before, ask your adjuster or an attorney how that history fits your claim.
Why Centennial Workers Start Their Claim Records at Butler Family Health Center
Same-day appointments mean your first visit note can carry a date close to the injury. Dr. Chris Butler has been a chiropractor since 1996. He treats back and neck pain, sciatica, herniated discs, shoulder pain and carpal tunnel symptoms, and we offer chiropractic examinations. How you respond to care depends on your injury and your exam.
Patients rate the practice 4.9 stars on Google. One wrote, "From the very beginning, I felt listened to, cared for, and never rushed." Peakview Center has onsite parking and a wheelchair accessible entrance, and we see workers from the Denver Tech Center, Inverness, Cherry Creek and Littleton.
Bring your claim number and your insurer's contact details to the first visit so your records are filed under the right claim. If you have new numbness, severe weakness, loss of bladder or bowel control, chest pain or a head injury, go to the emergency room first.
The Bottom Line
Your Centennial chiropractor keeps a signed note for every visit with your diagnosis, findings, treatment, plan and any restriction changes. When the chiropractor is your authorized treating physician, WC 164 reports go to the insurer and to you, and you are entitled to a copy of any report your employer or insurer receives. Ask for your copies in writing and keep them together with your claim number.
To start care, call or text Butler Family Health Center at (303) 741-2444 for a same-day appointment with Dr. Butler, our work injury chiropractor in Centennial.