Specialist medical review

If a treating doctor thinks a worker’s injury or illness is something they can’t treat themselves, a worker will be referred to a specialist for further review and to treat their injury.

An insurer may also choose to send a worker for an independent specialist review as part of the claim process. This is known as an independent medical examination.

A specialist is a medical practitioner who is an expert in a particular area of medicine. A worker will be sent to one who deals primarily with their kind of injury or illness.

What do they do?

Specialists can include different types of surgeons (like orthopaedic surgeons, hand surgeons, plastic surgeons, maxillofacial surgeons and more), psychiatrists, and other medical professionals who specialise in things like spinal injuries.

Review by a specialist is to work out the treatment that is best for a worker and their injury. This could mean being referred to work with a physiotherapist or, in more serious cases, could mean surgery.

What can a worker expect?

A specialist will run any tests they feel necessary such as an MRI or CAT scan as well as motion tests, where appropriate, to see how a worker responds.

This will not only help decide the best course of treatment but also what a worker is capable of doing. This information is important when putting together a rehabilitation and return to work plan and suitable duties program.

A specialist will discuss a worker’s treatment options with them before a decision is made.