Medical certificates, NZ Flashcards
Work and Income medical certificates
Types of medical certificates
Work Capacity Medical Certificate
Disability Certificate (for disability allowance)
Disability Certificate - Counselling
Disability Allowance - Medical Alarm Assessment
Supported Living Payment medical certificate for a person being cared for
Child Disability Allowance - Medical Certificate
How we use medical certificate information
provide the right financial assistance and employment support (where appropriate) for the person’s circumstances
assess the person’s level of work obligations - based on their capacity for full or part-time work, no capacity or the need to prepare for work
inform decision-making and planning that can be used to support the person to be as independent as they can.
Assisting people into work
You have an opportunity to help people see work as a vital part of their recovery or life with a long-term condition or disability.
You can encourage them to keep their current job or move towards suitable part-time employment.
People who are out of work and on a benefit have a higher risk of:
- poverty
- social isolation and
- deteriorating overall health.
The longer people stay on a benefit, the less likely they are to enter or return to work.
In considering whether to certify a person’s capacity for work, it is important to take into account:
the nature of the person’s health condition and/or disability and how long it is likely to last
the client’s capacity to work or ability to undertake work related activities given relevant restrictions
psychological factors that impact on the person
any reasonable modifications to the person’s work place that might enable them to continue working or return to work earlier
any further circumstances that could assist the person to return to full-time employment in the future such as part-time work, regular hours each day, regular days each week or the avoidance of certain activities
treatment, interventions or support that could reduce the duration of the person’s incapacity for work
any opportunities for the person to retrain or use their current skills in an alternative environment.
Employment assistance available from Work and Income
These include:
Activity in the Community
Offers unpaid work experience opportunities in sponsored community projects where some expenses may be paid.
Business Training and Advice Grant
A grant that can help with the costs of paying for advice and training from professionals to help start a business.
Flexi Wage
Flexi-Wage helps people getting government assistance who want to start up their own business.
Modification Grant
A grant to help remove the physical barriers in a workplace that impact on a disabled person’s ability to get work and keep working.
Finding or starting work – help with costs
We may be able to pay for things for people to find or start a job, such as clothes for work or a job interview, travel, living expenses until their first pay, or other things.
We also have programmes and seminars to help people find work:
- Job Search Service - Work and Income’s service to assist working age clients to find employment within 13 weeks.
- Employment Workshops - One hour workshops designed to help job seekers search for jobs in a supported and structured environment.
Who can complete a medical certificate
To complete a Work and Income medical certificate you must be a health practitioner as defined under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act (HPAA). For example, a:
doctor - registered to practice in New Zealand and have a current Annual Practicing Certificate. Medical students, unregistered health practitioners and allied health practitioners cannot complete medical certificates
dentist - dentists can complete the Work Capacity Medical Certificate for clients applying if the origin of the injury or disability is dental-related
midwife - midwives can complete the Work Capacity Medical Certificate where the person’s incapacity relates to pregnancy
nurse practitioner – within their scope of practice, nurse practitioners can complete the Work Capacity Medical Certificate.
Important information
A health practitioner obligations are to their patient, and to the law. Issues like the type of certificate completed, who initiates it, or who pays the consultation must not influence a health practitioner assessment and findings.
You must discuss the certificate with the person, their guardian or representative and ensure they agree to the information being provided to Work and Income.
You need to ensure that the certificate is:
completed in ink, or in the practice management system, and
that your HPI is provided, and
that you have signed and dated the certificate.
A medical certificate should be issued only once -if a certificate is lost, a duplicate certificate may be requested by a patient; however this duplicate certificate must be completed by yourself and be clearly marked as “duplicate”.
When to complete
You should complete a medical certificate as soon as you become aware that the person may be eligible for financial assistance from Work and Income.
If you have any concerns
Work and Income recognises that there are circumstances when you may be asked to complete the medical certificate, but you may not be the best person to provide the information.
Examples of this may be:
- the person is under the care of another doctor
- the person has a complex condition
- if you don’t have access to previous medical history
you are placed in a situation of conflict - either through duress or because the person has a complex social or financial situation.
You should signal on the medical certificate a second opinion may be more appropriate, if you have any concerns about:
- providing a diagnosis
- providing an opinion about a person’s capacity for work
- the cost associated with a health condition and/or disability.
If you indicate that a second opinion should be obtained, we will refer the client to be assessed by a designated health practitioner.
If you need more information about completing any of the medical certificates, please contact
your local health and disability team.
If you do not have their contact details, please call our General Enquiries number 0800 559 009 and one of our Customer Services Representatives will arrange for them to contact you.
Provider payments
The information on medical certificates is for the benefit of the client and provides verification of the client’s health condition and/or disability, their capacity for work and their ability to undertake work related activities.
It is the client’s responsibility to meet the costs of the consultation for their medical certificate.
Work and Income only provides direct payments to health practitioners when we have requested a second opinion.
