When a worker is injured at work, helping them stay or get back to work as soon as it is safe is an important part of injury recovery. 

Direct access to tier one services, such as a physiotherapist or chiropractor, gives workers who have experienced a strain or sprain injury more timely access to physical and functional assessment to determine their ability to safely stay or return-to-work. This allows the return-to-work program to begin right away.

As a physician, tiered services provider,  or other health care provider, you play a key role in the early assessment of injuries, diagnosis and, if necessary, treatment. Working with the injured worker, employer, and WCB case worker, you help ensure a worker’s stay at work, or safe return to work, to their regular job or to transitional duties. This is good for the worker and their family, and helps provide Nova Scotia with a healthier workforce. 

A Tiered Service Provider’s Guide to Forms and Reporting provides information on the WCB’s Direct Access to Tier 1 Services process, and some of the Tier 1 forms  you need to complete. It is important to also keep in touch with the WCB case worker – they are knowledgeable on the workers’ compensation system and can help guide you through our return-to-work process.