What the report is for
WCB Nova Scotia asks physicians and nurse practitioners for regular Primary and Emergency Care Reports to follow a worker’s progress. It’s one form for the whole claim. Each section tells you when to fill it in: the patient section every visit, the injury section at the first visit and whenever it changes, and the return-to-work section whenever that changes. WCB says each report should cover the worker’s account of the incident, their current concerns and related history, your diagnosis, their work capabilities and relevant objective findings.
Who completes it
The attending physician or nurse practitioner completes and certifies it. There’s no section for the worker.
How to fill in the report
Patient and injury
Enter the appointment date, the worker’s details and health card number every visit. At the first visit, add job title, employer, injury type (physical or psychological), injury location and side, date of injury and diagnosis. Update the injury section only when something changes.
Clinical notes
This section is optional at each visit, and it’s where you give WCB the detail behind the diagnosis. Describe the mechanism of injury with subjective and objective findings, and note any pre-existing condition or barrier to recovery. At later visits, record what has changed since the last one.
Treatment
Fill this in at the first visit and when treatment changes. List medications, and check WCB’s special authorization criteria before prescribing, because some drugs need a separate request. List referrals by name. MRI and surgical referrals go directly to WCB.
Return to work
Answer whether there are medical barriers, restrictions or limitations to returning to work, and expand if yes. Describe what the worker can and can’t do, such as lifting limits or hours, so the employer can arrange transitional duties.
Message to WCB and certification
Tick the message box and give a phone number if you want a WCB representative to call you about the case. Then sign, print your name, and add your CPSNS or NSCN number, phone, address and date. Signing certifies the report is complete and accurate and that fees follow the WCB contractual fee schedule.
Common reasons it’s delayed
- No claim number or health card number, which stops billing matching the claim.
- A diagnosis with no clinical findings behind it.
- Return-to-work barriers marked yes with nothing written.
- MRI or surgical referrals listed on the form instead of sent to WCB.
- A bill sent more than six months after the visit.
Submitting and who pays
Fax the report to WCB at 902-491-8001 or mail it to 200-137 Venture Run, Dartmouth, NS B3B 0L9. If you have WCB Online access, you can upload the PDF as a secure message attachment. Put the claim number on every page. You bill code WCB26 through MSI with WCB as the payee, and Medavie Blue Cross processes the payment, which WCB reimburses.