Halifax, NS July 6, 2017: Doing business with WCB Nova Scotia just became easier. 

After a century of paper-based operations, the WCB is now providing online services to workers and employers. Physiotherapists and chiropractors can also invoice the WCB electronically, and communicate securely as part of their business. 

It’s a major milestone in WCB’s five-year modernization plan, slated for completion in 2020. The changes deliver on what stakeholders asked for during consultations for the WCB’s 2016-2020 Strategic Plan – they said faxing information doesn't cut it anymore, they asked for direct access to their own information, and said that the WCB needed to work smarter, and become easier to do business with.

“Thanks to the launch of these new services, we’re now doing business the way the rest of the world works,” says WCB Nova Scotia CEO Stuart MacLean. “Every day spent tracking down a piece of paper is a day that a worker is off the job. These changes will make us faster and more efficient at what we do.”

The new service channels are available through WCB’s website, allowing secure, 24/7 access to account information, claim details, and more. They offer secure messaging, and direct links to resources that can support safe and timely return to the workplace. More features will be added as the WCB’s modernization moves forward. 

Powered bySalesforce, the system was designed, developed and tested based on user input. Feedback from those we serve will continue to inform future enhancements.

“Our modernization comes at an important time for us and for our province,” says MacLean. “Many of our systems are more than 25 years old. During that time technology and expectations have changed a lot. The people we serve want us to be faster. They don’t want to wait to access information. And they certainly don’t want to be sending faxes.” 

Last year, workers in Nova Scotia had 5,847 time-loss injuries. In total, more than 700,000 days were lost to injury. 

The modernization’s next phase will involve replacement of the legacy systems that power the assessment and claims functions – the WCB’s core business.

“How we do our work will be very different at the end of this journey,” says MacLean. “It’s major change that will reshape our organization and provide better, more powerful tools to help us be successful in meeting the workplace safety and insurance challenges we face today, and in the future.”

For more information about WCB Nova Scotia’s Online Channels and Modernization, visit www.wcb.ns.ca