Rehabilitation options

Rehabilitation is a vital part of getting better and back to normal life. There are lots of rehabilitation options, depending on the type of injury and a worker’s needs.

Once a treating doctor (either a GP or at a hospital) has assessed a work-related injury or illness and provided treatment, they’ll recommend next steps to get a worker on the road to recovery.

Who does what?

It can sometimes be confusing knowing who is responsible for different parts of a worker’s treatment and rehabilitation. A treating doctor will take care of managing a worker’s illness or injury overall. They’ll provide a diagnosis, watch over the recovery progress, and help a worker return to work.

What if a worker needs a specialist?

If an injury is something a GP can’t treat themselves, they’ll refer a worker to another medical provider. This could be directly to an allied health professional for treatment or to a specialist for further examination.

If a worker is sent to a specialist, this is called a Specialist Medical Review.  This will help a worker and their doctor confirm whether a worker can begin their recovery journey being treated by an allied health professional of some kind or, in more serious cases, whether surgery is needed.

Sometimes a worker’s rehabilitation might even start with something like physiotherapy to see how well their injury responds before deciding on surgery.

Once it’s been worked out, a worker will be referred to the right person for ongoing treatment. The type of medical or allied health practitioner they’re referred to will be the one most appropriate for their injury and needs.

Allied health treatments

Allied health practitioners can treat and manage the clinical care of a worker’s injury or illness and can assist greatly in restoring health and function. This is a very big part of getting a worker back to work and normal life.

Approved treatments

There are many different kinds of medical and allied health professionals that may be accessed. However, there are some that aren’t covered by workers’ compensation insurance.