What the CMS8 is for
The CMS8 is the first health professional’s report on a work-related mental stress injury. Use it for a patient who is claiming WSIB benefits for mental stress, or when you think the cause of their mental stress is work-related. WSIB covers chronic mental stress, where a work-related stressor such as harassment is the predominant cause, and traumatic mental stress caused by one or more traumatic workplace incidents.
WSIB asks for one CMS8 per person and says it must not be used as a progress report. It replaces Form 8 for these claims. First responders with diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder have a presumption of work-relatedness.
Who completes it
The patient completes Section A with their details, employer, supervisor and job title, and signs Section G to let you give their employer page three. A physician or nurse practitioner completes Sections B to F.
Patients often arrive for a mental stress visit without the employer address or supervisor’s name, so Section A comes back incomplete or gets filled in from memory in the room. In Medulla, you send Section A and the Section G signature to the patient over a secure link before or after the visit, so they can fill it in when they have the details. Their answers land on the PDF you complete the clinical sections on, and WSIB gets one complete form.
How to fill in Sections B to F
B. General section
Record whether the patient says their condition is due to work, the date they first sought care, and the date symptoms began. Say whether symptoms continue, and if not, when they resolved. Then describe your understanding of the work-related situation in the patient’s account: what happened, when, and over what period.
C. Clinical information section
Give the diagnosis, using a DSM diagnosis where you can, and document the DSM criteria met. WSIB covers mental stress injuries diagnosed against DSM-5, so a symptom list without a diagnosis leaves the claim without its foundation. Record any pre-existing or co-existing psychological conditions and contributing factors.
D. Treatment plan
Describe the treatment, its expected duration, medications and any referrals, such as psychotherapy or psychiatry.
F. Return-to-work information
This is page three, the page the employer sees. Say whether the patient lost time from work. If they aren’t at work, tick regular duties, modified duties or not able to work, and list what would need to be in place for them to return. Describe their functional abilities for accommodation: impairments in social or occupational function and the accommodations needed.
Common reasons it’s delayed or queried
- No DSM diagnosis, or the criteria met aren’t documented.
- No account of the work-related situation in Section B.
- Missing dates of onset or first care.
- Return-to-work page with no functional description, so the employer can’t accommodate.
- Section A incomplete, or no patient signature in Section G.
- A CMS8 sent as a progress report.
Submitting and who pays
Send pages two and three to WSIB online at wsib.ca/submit or by fax, and give the patient page three for their employer. You can tick the electronic signature box when you submit online. WSIB pays the physician or nurse practitioner for the report under the CMS8 service code, so the patient isn’t billed.