Primary assessment and treatment

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Normally, one health-care provider will make the decisions about your treatment at every stage of recovery. Learn who your primary practitioner can be and what their responsibilities are.

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Normally, one care provider will make the decisions about your treatment at every stage of recovery. This primary practitioner can be a family doctor or nurse practitioner, a chiropractor, dentist, optometrist or physiotherapist.

The primary practitioner:

    • Assesses your injury and develops a treatment plan.
    • Lays the groundwork for early return to work by providing you with a list of restrictions and sharing this list with your employer.
    • Asks the Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) to arrange diagnostic tests, specialist appointments and surgeries, as needed.
    • Asks that you be moved directly to advanced assessment and/or treatment, if needed.
    • Monitors each stage of your recovery.

Most workers only need primary-level treatment before returning to work. Only a few need advanced care. Almost all workers can return to some type of work while they recover.

The WCB’s goal is always to return you to normal activities, including work, in a timely and safe manner. Everyone has a role to play in meeting that goal: you, your employer, your care providers and the WCB. Returning to work is an important part of the recovery process.

The return-to-work process starts during your first visit to your care provider. The provider will give you a list of restrictions to share with your employer.

Your employer must fulfill their legal duty to accommodate you by using the list of restrictions to change your job tasks so you can safely return to work during recovery.

The WCB helps employers and workers develop and adjust return-to-work activities throughout the recovery process. Each step keeps your best interests in mind.

If you have reached maximum recovery and can’t perform your previous job tasks, all partners work together to arrange permanently modified duties with the same employer.

The WCB can fine an employer who does not co-operate, but this is a last resort.

If your recovery is delayed after the primary assessment and treatment stage, you will receive an advanced assessment.

 

Contact

Contact information

Contact a WCB representative to find help.

Operations division