A nominated treating doctor is the medical practitioner you appoint to manage your recovery from workplace injury, and assist in your safe return to work.
Also known as your workers comp doctor or WorkCover doctor, your NTD is the medical practitioner you appoint to oversee your medical care within the framework of your workers compensation claim, including screening for psychosocial risks that may affect your recovery.
People often appoint the GP they are most comfortable with. In our blog article, we outline some key factors to consider when nominating your NTD.
Responsibilities of an NTD
Your NTD is responsible for overseeing your:
- Medical Management: Monitoring your condition and regularly assessing your capacity for work.
- Certificate of Capacity (COC): Issuing a COC that details your condition and work capacity, ensuring your support team (employer, insurer, etc.) understands your recovery needs.
- Return to Work (RTW) Plan: Developing a plan with treatment recommendations and suitable rehabilitation strategies.
- Support Team's Communication Process: Regularly updating the support team on your recovery and any adjustments to be made.
- Work Options: Identifying suitable work tasks or modified duties to support your recovery.
Legal Requirements
If your injury prevents you from performing your regular job for seven days or more, you are legally required to nominate a treating doctor. Your NTD must be prepared to work with your employer, insurer, and other stakeholders in the support team to create and implement an injury management plan (IMP).
By signing the certificate of capacity (COC), you authorise your NTD to share information about your injury and rehabilitation needs with your support team, ensuring a collaborative approach to your recovery.
Looking for a WorkCover doctor for your workers compensation case? We can help connect you to a medical expert in our network.
Just fill out our form here and one of our team members will give you a callback.