Primary care physicians play an important role in the recovery, return to work, and disability management of patients who have a workplace injury or illness.[1,2] Evidence shows that having conversations early and maintaining connections and communication with the workplace can facilitate a positive return-to-work journey for patients. Having conversations and encouraging your patient to stay in touch with their workplace is helpful in protecting their livelihood.
For physicians interested in helping with return-to-work coordination by reaching out to your patient’s workplace, there is a fee code (19950) to support this. We recommend that you use this code in the first few weeks of the claims process. With your patient’s consent, you can contact their employer or supervisor to develop a return-to-work plan. This can be done during the first or a subsequent office visit, on a phone call, or using whatever method of communication you and your patient decide on. Larger employers may be more likely to have alternative duties for your patient.
In developing a return-to-work plan, your patient’s employer needs to understand how your patient’s workplace condition affects their ability to work and for what length of time, so the employer can provide accommodations. They do not need to know confidential medical information (although patients may share this with employers). Employers receive the accepted claim diagnosis from WorkSafeBC, but they otherwise receive only the information necessary to run their workplace.
For more information, visit our return-to-work information page for health care providers at www.worksafebc.com/en/claims/recovery-work/health-care-providers-return-to-work-information [12].
—Olivia Sampson, MD, CCFP, MPH, RCPSC
Medical Services Manager, WorkSafeBC
—Celina Dunn, MD, CCFP, CIME
Medical Services Manager, WorkSafeBC
The provincial government made amendments to the Workers Compensation Act that affect return to work. Starting 1 January 2024, employers and workers will have a legal duty to cooperate with each other and with WorkSafeBC in timely and safe return to work following a worker’s injury, and certain employers will have an obligation to return injured workers to work in specific circumstances. Visit worksafebc.com and search “employers: duty to cooperate” for more information.
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This article is the opinion of WorkSafeBC and has not been peer reviewed by the BCMJ Editorial Board.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License [13]. |
1. Furlan AD, Harbin S, Vieira FF, et al. Primary care physicians’ learning needs in returning ill or injured workers to work. A scoping review. J Occup Rehabil 2022;32:591-619.
2. Canadian Medical Association. The treating physician’s role in helping patients return to work after an illness or injury (update 2013). Accessed 29 September 2023. https://policybase.cma.ca/link/policy10754 [14].
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[3] https://bcmj.org/author/celina-dunn-md-ccfp-cime
[4] https://bcmj.org/node/9878
[5] https://bcmj.org/sites/default/files/BCMJ_Vol65_No9_worksafebc.pdf
[6] https://bcmj.org/print/worksafebc/performing-return-work-consultation-patients-workplace-injury-or-illness
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