Occupational therapists

Do you provide occupational therapy treatment to customers injured in a car crash? Here are a few things you should know:

A better, more affordable ICBC

The B.C. government and ICBC have announced changes to auto insurance coming in May 2021. Under Enhanced Care coverage, British Columbians injured in a crash will have significantly enhanced recovery benefits whether or not the injured person was responsible for the crash. To learn more, visit ICBC and ICBC changes to insurance.

Your ICBC supplier account number

Occupational therapists working with ICBC are governed by the Performance standards for approved occupational therapists, which outline service expectations and reporting requirements.

Occupational therapy firms who wish to work with ICBC customers are required to submit an application for an ICBC supplier account number and have their participating occupational therapists submit a signed Participation agreement confirming that they will adhere to these standards. Occupational therapists who sign the agreement are placed on an approved list of service providers; however, being on the list does not guarantee work.

If you or your firm have been paid by ICBC before, you likely already have a vendor number. If you do not have a vendor number or you need to make changes to your vendor information, visit our Vendor number page.

Invoicing and reporting

Occupational therapists approved to treat our customers may use the Health Care Provider Invoicing and Reporting (HCPIR) application to send invoices and reports directly to ICBC. In order to use the HCPIR, a vendor number is required. The line items in the application are described in the occupational therapy HCPIR line item guide.

Treatment guidelines

Occupational therapists are expected to assess and determine their treatment plans in accordance with the College practice standards, using evidence-informed practice when establishing a diagnosis and providing treatments.

As of April 1, 2019, when treating a patient with an injury listed in sections 3 or 4 of the Diagnostic and Treatment Protocols in the Minor Injury Regulation made under the Insurance (Vehicle) Act, a health care practitioner must educate the patient with respect to the following:

(1) (a) if applicable, the desirability of an early return:

a. to the activities the patient could perform before the injury, or
b. to the patient’s employment, occupation or profession or the patient’s training or education in a program or course;

(b) an estimate of the probable length of time that symptoms will last;

(d) the probable factors that are responsible for the symptoms the patient may be experiencing;

(e) appropriate self-management and pain management strategies.

(2) When treating a pain syndrome and a psychological or psychiatric condition, a health care practitioner must identify comorbid conditions, if applicable.

Note: Oversight is the responsibility of a health care provider to ensure treatment plans are in alignment with the treatment goals of the primary care provider(s). This may involve sharing of the assessment findings and treatment recommendations with the primary care provider, in accordance with the association’s information sharing guidelines.

Fees

Effective April 1, 2019, the provincial government has updated the treatment fees that ICBC will cover for care and treatment after a crash. This has been outlined in the Insurance (Vehicle) Act and is highlighted in the table below.

Fee table

Hourly rate	$115 per hour as outlined in the Insurance (Vehicle) Regulation
Care plan meeting	Care plan meetings must be initiated, approved, scheduled and facilitated by a Customer Recovery Specialist for the purpose of aligning goals, objectives and overall medical case management of a shared patient.They cannot be used to invoice for time spent discussing a shared patient or general correspondence, where the Customer Recovery Specialist has not scheduled the call and is not present for the meeting.Time spent by the health care provider in preparation for the care plan meeting is not billable.
No-show appointment	ICBC will fund one no-show appointment. Beyond that, the clinic’s no-show and cancellation policies should apply.
Rehabilitation assistance/life skills work	$45 per hour. Applicable to services delivered by a rehabilitation assistant. All rehabilitation assistance services, including applicable travel and mileage, requires pre-authorization.Travel time incurred by a health care provider operating within the scope of a rehab assistant is payable at $22.50 per hour, billed to the minute, up to a maximum of 60 minutes total per treatment session. Travel time must be cost shared so that travel time to a location where multiple customers, ICBC or otherwise, are treated, the cost is shared across those clients/claims in an equal manner.

These fees apply to all treatments administered on or after April 1, 2020, regardless of the date of the accident that caused the injury.

Equipment purchases

As per Section 4.7 of the Performance Standards, where durable medical equipment purchases are required to support ICBC customer care, the purchase must be made from an approved supplier. ICBC participates in the BC Government Mobility Devices and Durable Medical Equipment Master Standing Agreement, and applicable goods purchased for ICBC customers must be sourced from participating suppliers.

Report templates

You can find out more information about submitting reports and report templates on the Reports page.

Occupational therapists should submit a discharge report for patients who have been discharged from care following a motor vehicle accident.

Contact & support

Visit the Support and resources page.