Acupuncture and work accidents
Following a work accident or a recognized occupational disease, your physician may prescribe acupuncture sessions to support your rehabilitation. At the clinic, these treatments are handled by Jessica Chan, acupuncturist and member of the OAQ.
How CNESST coverage works
In a work-accident or occupational-disease file, the CNESST may cover acupuncture sessions with a medical prescription. Terms vary from one file to the next; we guide you through the steps. The treatment then forms part of the rehabilitation plan drawn up with your physician.
Acupuncture comes in as a complement to the medical care your file requires, never as a replacement.
Where does your file stand?
What to do next is not the same depending on where your claim stands. Find your situation: the rest follows from it.
A file is already open
Send us your file number and bring your prescription. This is the simplest case: we take it from there with the CNESST.
The claim is filed, with no answer yet
Call us before booking. We will go over the order of the steps together, without presuming what the CNESST will decide about your file.
Nothing has been done yet
The Worker’s Claim can be filled in online or at the clinic, and your physician has to have prescribed the sessions. The form is linked below.
Three steps to begin your treatments
Depending on where your file stands, the process comes down to three simple steps.
Your file number
If a file is already open with the CNESST, simply give us its number. Otherwise, a Worker’s Claim has to be filled in, online or at the clinic during your first appointment.
Download the “Réclamation du travailleur” (Worker’s Claim) (opens in a new tab)The medical prescription
Your physician assesses your condition and judges whether acupuncture sessions can support your recovery. If so, they write a prescription for this service.
Taking over the file
Get in touch with the clinic: we handle the paperwork with the CNESST for the rest of your treatments.
Handled by Jessica Chan
Acupuncturist, member of the OAQ. At the clinic, she is the only practitioner who takes on the treatments covered by the CNESST.
Your questions about the file
My file has not been accepted yet. Can I start treatment?
You can book an appointment. Coverage, though, depends on whether your claim is admissible and on your physician’s prescription: that is determined by the CNESST, not by the clinic. Call us before booking and we will go over the order of the steps together.
Is there anything for me to pay?
No. Once your file is accepted and the sessions are prescribed, they are covered by the CNESST: nothing is billed to you for those treatments. Whether your file is admissible is determined by the CNESST.
How long do I have to file my claim?
The CNESST allows six months from the date of the injury to send in the Worker’s Claim. For an occupational disease, the period runs from the day you become aware of it. A claim for the reimbursement of expenses is also sent within six months of the date the expense was incurred.
Is a medical prescription required?
Yes. Your physician assesses your condition and judges whether acupuncture sessions can support your recovery; if so, they write a prescription. The treatments then form part of the rehabilitation plan drawn up with them, as a complement to your medical care, never as a replacement.
Why are CNESST treatments handled by Jessica Chan only?
At the clinic, she is the only practitioner who takes on files covered by the CNESST. She is an acupuncturist and a member of the Ordre des acupuncteurs du Québec. Bookings for these treatments are therefore made with her.
Does it hurt?
The needles are far finer than an injection needle. The sensation is most often described as slight pressure, or as nothing at all.
The time limits and conditions quoted here are the ones published by the CNESST and may change. Always check your own situation with your agent or on the CNESST website (opens in a new tab).
A CNESST file already open, or a prescription in hand? Book with Jessica: she’ll guide you through the paperwork.
Book with Jessica (opens in a new tab)