What the CL489S is for
The CL489S is ICBC’s report for consultations. It applies to physicians who see a patient on referral from another physician or a nurse practitioner, including specialists and family physicians whose practice focuses on sports medicine, and only for crashes on or after May 1, 2021. ICBC uses it, like the family physician reports, to support recovery goals, plan return to work and inform the other benefits on the claim.
It’s often confused with the CL489 family physician reports. Those come from the treating family physician after the initial assessment, while the CL489S comes from the consultant after a referral.
Who completes it
The consulting physician completes every section and certifies it. The patient has no part to fill in. You need the ICBC claim number, from the patient or ICBC’s Health Care Inquiry Unit, and either the patient’s consent or a formal ICBC request.
How to fill in the CL489S
Invoice information, Patient information and Physician information
ICBC needs the claim number, date of crash, payee name and address, patient name and date of report to pay. Pick your specialty type from the drop-down and add your MSP practitioner number. The vendor number lets ICBC pay you directly, and the invoice or reference number is your own, for reconciliation.
Assessment
The diagnosis comes first on this form. Enter the primary diagnosis, the most serious or significant injury, with nature of injury, body part, orientation and ICD-9 code, then other diagnoses caused by or related to the crash.
Vocational status and Avocational status
Questions 1 to 7 record employment, any absence, and whether duties and hours are full or modified. If the patient isn’t at full capacity, name the specific duties or physical demands they can’t do and to what degree, and say whether you support a gradual return to work and its earliest start date. Questions 8 to 10 cover activities of daily living and the earliest return date.
Restrictions, barriers and Recommended Care Management Plan
Describe restrictions and whether they’re temporary or permanent, name barriers to recovery, and give your management recommendations: treatments, investigations or referrals. Make each recommendation specific enough for the referring physician to act on.
Prognosis, recovery timelines and certification
The form asks for the prognosis and recovery timeline to the best of your ability. Tick the certification and either patient consent or an ICBC request under Section 28 or 28.1 of the Insurance (Vehicle) Act. Use the Lock button only when the report is final.
Common reasons it’s delayed or unpaid
- Missing claim number, payee name or payee address.
- A crash before May 1, 2021, which the CL489S doesn’t cover.
- A consultation without a written referral.
- The consultation fee billed to ICBC on the report instead of through MSP.
- No consent or ICBC request box ticked.
Submitting and who pays
You have two ways to share it: send it with the patient’s consent, or complete it and tell ICBC’s Health Care Inquiry Unit it’s ready, which prompts a formal request that doesn’t need consent. Fax it to 1-877-686-4222 or mail it to ICBC, PO Box 2121, Stn Terminal, Vancouver, BC V6B 0L6.
ICBC pays $275 for the report under code A94573, and the report is the invoice. The consultation is billed through MSP Teleplan with ICBC as the insurer. Scarring and range of motion reports are completed only on ICBC’s request and need their own invoice.