Acupuncture after a road accident
The SAAQ may cover acupuncture treatments, on medical recommendation and according to the terms of your file.
Open 7 days a week · Monday and Friday from 9 a.m.
Road accident: your acupuncture care
Once a file has been accepted, we provide the required documents and contact your agent when needed. Always confirm the conditions with the SAAQ: saaq.gouv.qc.ca (opens in a new tab).
At the clinic, SAAQ files are handled by Justin Lapointe, Acupuncturist · OAQ member and Jessica Chan, Acupuncturist · OAQ member.
In clinic, we see people for acute or chronic pain related to an accident, as well as for the stress, anxiety or sleep difficulties that can follow from it.
Three steps to begin
Your file number
Following a road accident, you need to give us the file number issued by the SAAQ.
A medical prescription
See your physician for an assessment of your condition: they may prescribe acupuncture treatments if they consider this service relevant to your recovery.
Your first appointment
Get in touch with the clinic: we handle the administrative steps with the SAAQ.
The file is not yours to carry
An accident already means forms, phone calls and waiting. The administrative side of your treatments should not add to the pile.
What you bring
- Your SAAQ file number
- Your acupuncture prescription, signed by a physician or a specialized nurse practitioner
- What you have been feeling since the accident, in your own words
What we take care of
- The documents your claim needs, handed over at every session
- The exchanges with your compensation agent, as needed
- Following the file from one session to the next, without you having to carry it
A process at your own pace
The number of sessions varies from one person to the next, depending on the nature of the accident and how it evolves. Some people come about one specific pain, others for the stress or anxiety that sometimes follows an accident, a subject we set out in more detail on our page devoted to stress and anxiety. These treatments always come alongside your medical care, never in place of it.
Have your SAAQ file number and your medical prescription ready: the prescription is required for your reimbursement. We can go over the steps with you by phone at (514) 974-1732 before you book.
Your questions about the steps
Do I need a prescription for the SAAQ to reimburse?
Yes. Treatments have to be connected to the accident, judged medically required and prescribed by a physician or a specialized nurse practitioner. They also have to be given by a member of the Ordre des acupuncteurs du Québec, which is the case for both acupuncturists at the clinic. The current conditions can be checked on the SAAQ website.
Does the SAAQ cover the whole session?
Not necessarily. The SAAQ reimburses up to a maximum amount per treatment, set by regulation and revised from time to time. When that maximum is lower than the rate for the session, the difference is yours to cover. We tell you plainly where your own file stands before we begin, and the scale in force can be consulted on the SAAQ website.
What documents do I have to provide?
Your prescription and the receipt or invoice for each session. Your claim number has to appear on the documents sent to the SAAQ. At the clinic, we hand you the necessary paperwork as we go.
Can I come in before I have my prescription?
Nothing stops you from booking an appointment now. The prescription, though, is what the SAAQ needs before it will consider reimbursement: until one has been issued, we cannot take a position on coverage for sessions already given. The simplest thing is to call us before booking and we will explain the order of the steps.
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 reimbursement conditions are the ones published by the SAAQ and may change. Always check your own situation with your agent or on the SAAQ’s official page on acupuncture (opens in a new tab).
Have your SAAQ file number with you: we will guide you through what comes next, in person in the Plateau-Mont-Royal.