Physiotherapists
Do you provide physiotherapy to customers injured in a car crash? Here are a few things you need to 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.
Invoicing & reporting
Physiotherapists 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.
If you have been paid by ICBC before, you likely already have a vendor number. If you do not already have a vendor number or you need to make changes to your vendor information, visit our vendor number page.
Treatment guidelines
Physiotherapists are expected to assess patients and determine their treatment plans in accordance with College practice standards.
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;
(c) the usual course of recovery;
(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.
Fees
Fees are based on a standard treatment, rather than being charged at an hourly rate.
Fee table
| Initial visit & report* | $256.00 (billable once) as outlined in the Insurance (Vehicle) Regulation |
| Standard treatment | $81.00 as outlined in the Insurance (Vehicle) Regulation |
| Pre-approved number of treatments | 25 (within 12 weeks of the date of the accident causing the injury) as outlined in the Insurance (Vehicle) Regulation |
| Reassessment report (upon request) | $80.00 |
| In-home treatments | This treatment is used when a customer has had a catastrophic injury that prevents them from travelling to a clinic. It requires pre-authorization. |
| Home visit | $85.00 per hour. Session includes completing of charting and updates to other providers. |
| Physio-led active rehabilitation | Invoices for physio-led active rehab visits cannot be submitted via HCPIR. Refer to the exception handling section of the Invoicing and reporting page. |
| Care plan meeting** | $15 per 5-minute increment |
| Mileage*** | $0.47 per kilometre. Mileage 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. |
| Travel time*** | Actual travel time for treatment purposes is payable at $42.50 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. |
| 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 causing the injury.
*The initial visit fee includes the assessment and treatment provided that day. A standard visit is not to be charged for the date the initial visit took place.
**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.
**Mileage and travel time example: travel time of 30 minutes to and 30 minutes from the treatment location and a total of 25 km. Two clients are seen at a local recreation centre. In this case, half of the travel time and half of the mileage is billable to either client. If the second client is not an ICBC customer, the cost sharing must still apply.
Notes
- ICBC customers who choose to visit a health care provider that charges a higher rate than what ICBC funds will not be able to recover the user fees from ICBC for claims with an accident date on or after April 1, 2019. The patient is responsible for paying the user fee portion, which they may submit to their private health insurer for consideration of coverage.
- Treatments are based on sessions provided and fees reflect fair market rate for a standard industry visit. Treatment frequency will be based on clinical recommendations and should reflect best practice.
- Multiple sessions provided by the same discipline, on the same day, will not be funded.
- In the case of a no-show, the clinic’s no-show and cancellation policies should apply. ICBC will not pay for no-show appointments.
Report templates
You can find more information about submitting reports and report templates on the Reports page.
Contact & support
Visit the Support and resources page.