Alberta form
WCB Alberta physician report
When you treat a work-related injury or illness in Alberta, WCB-Alberta expects a physician’s first report (and later progress reports) so the claim can be adjudicated and the worker can be treated and returned to work. This is not a WSIB Form 8, not an EI certificate, and not a disability tax form. It is a workers’ compensation medical report: diagnosis, mechanism, work status, and what the worker can do now.
What WCB-Alberta is asking
The first report tells WCB what happened, what you found, what you diagnosed, what you did, and whether the worker can return to regular, modified, or no work. Progress reports update recovery and restrictions. WCB pays for entitled reports when they are submitted the way WCB currently requires — usually through myWCB, not a mystery fax number from 2014.
Physicians submit first reports, progress reports, consultation reports, and invoices through myWCB. Chiropractors and physical therapists have their own report types. Use the current WCB-Alberta channel. Do not mail a photocopy of an Ontario Form 8 to Edmonton.
Work relatedness is a claim issue
Describe the history the worker gave you and your clinical findings. You do not have to play investigator. If the story is inconsistent with the injury pattern, record both. WCB adjudicates entitlement.
Who submits which report
- Physicians: first reports, progress reports, consultation reports, invoices.
- Chiropractors: first reports, progress reports, invoices.
- Physical therapists: assessment reports, status reports, invoices.
- Contracted community psychology providers: mental health first report and the follow-up set WCB specifies.
- Stay inside your scope. Do not complete a physician first report if you are not the physician.
If you are the emergency physician who saw the injury once, complete the first report from that visit. The family physician’s later progress report should not pretend they were there on day zero.
How to complete the first and progress reports
- Worker identifiers and employer as given. Wrong spelling of a name delays the claim more often than a missing ROM number.
- Date of injury, date first seen, and whether this is the first visit for this injury.
- Mechanism in the worker’s words, then your examination of the injured area — not a full systems review.
- Diagnosis that matches the exam. “Low back strain” and “urgent MRI for cauda equina” cannot both be true without the red flags.
- Treatment and referrals: what you did today, what you ordered, who else is seeing them.
- Work status: regular duties, modified duties with specific restrictions, or unfit. “Light duties” with no weights, hours, or postures is not a restriction.
- Progress reports: what changed, what did not, and a next review date. Do not copy the first report and change the date.
Modified work is the default goal when it is safe. If the employer has offered modified duties and you write “off work” without a medical reason, WCB will ask. If they truly cannot work, say which functions are unsafe and for how long.
Worked example (fictional)
First report — acute shoulder, occupational medicine / ER follow-up
Fictional 42-year-old millwright in Red Deer. Do not copy into a real WCB report.
DOI: 2026-08-20. First seen: 2026-08-21. History: worker reports catching a falling 15 kg housing with the right arm, sudden lateral shoulder pain. No head injury, no neck radiation, no hand numbness. Exam: tender at supraspinatus insertion, painful arc, positive empty-can. Neurovascular intact. Cervical screen negative. Dx: right rotator cuff strain, rule out partial-thickness tear if not improving. Tx: sling prn 48 h, NSAID if no contraindication, refer PT, no imaging today. Work: unfit for overhead work and lifting >5 kg with the right arm. Can do left-handed paperwork and ground-level inspection. Reassess 10 days. Not a WSIB Form 8. Submitted via myWCB.
Why reports bounce or delay the claim
- No work status, or “light duties” with no specifics.
- Diagnosis that does not match the mechanism or the exam.
- Late first report after several visits, with no explanation.
- Progress note that is a clone of the last one.
- Sending an Ontario or EI form instead of the WCB-Alberta report.
Draft the WCB report from the visit, then file it in myWCB
In Scribeberry, open Forms, search for the WCB Alberta physician report, or upload WCB-Alberta’s current PDF. Generate from the encounter and your notes, then review every field before you sign. The clinician still certifies the content. Scribeberry does not file with WCB-Alberta.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the same as WSIB Form 8?
No. Form 8 is Ontario WSIB. Alberta WCB has its own first and progress reports, usually submitted through myWCB. Do not use an Ontario PDF for an Alberta claim.
Do I decide if the injury is work-related?
You record history and findings. WCB-Alberta adjudicates entitlement. If the history and the injury pattern do not line up, write both rather than stretching the mechanism.
Who gets the report?
WCB-Alberta, through the channel they publish for health care providers (myWCB). Keep a copy in the chart. Do not email PHI to a personal address.
Does Scribeberry submit the report to WCB-Alberta?
No. Scribeberry helps you complete the content from clinical context. You (or your billing staff) submit it in myWCB. You keep a copy in the chart.
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