Primary treatment

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Learn what the management plan a primary practitioner develops might include and what to do if a worker seeks treatment without knowing their condition is work related.

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Primary treatment is provided as soon as possible following an injury. The primary practitioner is usually the first care provider to see an injured worker after an incident. This is generally a family doctor or general practitioner, a chiropractor, dentist, optometrist or physiotherapist.

A primary practitioner assesses an injured worker and develops a management plan that may include:

  • Diagnostic investigation.
  • Referrals to specialists, other health care professionals or treatment facilities.
  • A referral, if appropriate, to an assessment team through the WCB.

Sometimes, workers seek treatment without knowing their condition is work related. (A work injury is an injury that happens on the job and that needs medical treatment and/or time away from work. Learn what qualifies as a work injury here.) In these cases, we ask primary practitioners to:

  • Inform the worker that the condition might be covered by the WCB.
  • Submit an initial report to the WCB to initiate a claim.
  • Advise the injured worker to report the injury to the employer and the WCB.

Because most workers can perform sedentary or light duties very soon after their injuries, the primary practitioner should, with the knowledge and agreement of the injured worker, provide information to the employer regarding the worker’s fitness for transitional return to work.