Download Fact Sheet - Choosing a relevant Independent Medical Specialist

FORM R2
Choosing a relevant Independent Medical Specialist
The chief executive officer (or delegate) may direct an employee to be examined by a
doctor. Pursuant to the Acts Interpretation Act 1954, a doctor is a person registered
under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009 to practise in the
medical profession, other than as a student. Care must be taken to ensure that a
person who is not a doctor is not appointed to conduct the examination. Therefore, it
must be ensured that the person conducting the examination is currently registered
on the Medical Board of Australia’s Register of Medical Practitioners. It would be
acceptable for the doctor to refer the employee to another medical or allied health
specialist so that the doctor is appraised of further information, but it is the doctor
who conducts the primary examination and provides the report.
The standard issued by the Medical Board of Australia, entitled ‘List of specialties,
fields of specialty practice, and related specialist titles’, which defines the scope of
the different types of medical practitioners. Only people who practise as one of these
types of medical practitioners may be appointed under Part 7 of the Public Service
Act 2008 to examine an employee. Examples include:
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Psychiatrist – Diagnoses and treats mental, emotional and behavioural
disorders and prescribes medications and treatment to promote or restore
mental health.
Occupational Physician – Are trained to assess a person’s capacity for work.
They assess, treat and prevent musculoskeletal disorders and determine
whether the condition is related to work.
Orthopaedic Surgeon – A specialist surgeon who diagnoses and provides
surgical treatment of conditions of the musculoskeletal system including
conditions of bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles and nerves.
Rheumatologist – Specialises in the diagnosis and management of inflammatory
conditions of joints, muscles and soft tissues.
Neurologist – Diagnoses and provides non-surgical management of conditions
of the brain, spine and peripheral nerves. Neurologists can assess all
neurological conditions and cognitive deficits.
Neurosurgeon – A specialist surgeon who specialises in conditions and surgery
of the brain and spine.
An Independent Medical Specialist should be chosen who, not only has expertise in
the relevant area of mental or physical illness or disability, but also that the employee
has not received treatment from as a prior or current patient. There should also not
be a bias or perception of bias in the choice of the specialist, so that the choice is
seen as fair and just. It is therefore, important to consider if the employee has
previously been examined by the specialist, the circumstances in which this
occurred, any report that was obtained, the relationship between the specialist and
employee, and the availability of other specialists. A medical assessment and report
could be obtained from a specialist who had previously examined the employee,
provided they could be shown to be independent, had the relevant expertise and the
employee was not a current or past patient.
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