The company said physicians who are chosen will be recognized for delivering high quality care, promoting the return-to-work philosophy and achieving a high rate of patient satisfaction.

Anyone involved in the workers' compensation system, including injured employees and their employers, case managers, claims adjusters and managers, risk managers and third party administrators can nominate a physician by logging onto www.FloridaChoiceAwards.com or calling 888-823-5377.

To be eligible for an award a physician must be licensed in Florida and have a minimum of two years workers' compensation experience.

Factors that will be considered in judging the nominees include having an experienced efficient staff, setting appointments in a timely manner, routinely providing a work status at the time of treatment and demonstrating understanding and belief in the return-to-work philosophy.

Other factors are communicating pertinent issues with all involved parties (employee, employer, adjuster, carrier, case manager, other treating physicians), processing necessary paperwork within 48 hours of seeing a patient, and providing a superior level of patient satisfaction.

Patient satisfaction will be rated on a number of factors. CHOICE Network doctors will be scored on information in the network databank from patient satisfaction surveys as well as any data concerning complaints or disciplinary actions.

Doctors who are not part of the CHOICE Network will be screened according to National Committee for Quality Assurance guidelines.

Explaining the company's decision to mount the awards program, Tom Barrett, president and chief executive officer of CHOICE said, "There is a lot of talk about what's wrong with Florida's workers compensation system, and we want to focus on what is right. This program calls attention to physicians who provide excellent healthcare with good outcomes."

Winners will be selected by an outside panel of judges consisting of officials from a variety of sectors including, medical management, medical care, law, insurance and municipal government.