Get Started
- Review Registration Requirements and Complete Application Form if Required
- Complete Occupational Health and Safety Policy
Registration and Starting Your Health and Safety Program
Physicians are often employers. They may own their own practice and hire staff, or they may be part owners of an incorporated clinic.
If you employ staff, you are required to register with WorkSafeBC for employee insurance coverage. You are also required to have an occupational health and safety (OHS) program. An OHS program helps protect your team, reduces workplace risks, and creates a safer clinic for you, your staff, and your patients.
Meeting these requirements doesn’t have to be difficult.
The Community Physician Health and Safety program provides easy, practical, and convenient tools and resources that you can customize for your staff and clinic. Let’s build your plan together!
Why Register
Program Requirements
Every workplace — even small businesses — must have a health and safety program to help prevent work-related injuries and illnesses.
An occupational health and safety program helps employers keep workplaces safe by:
- Managing risks.
- Sharing clear safety rules with staff.
- Setting goals to improve safety.
- Assigning roles and responsibilities to ensure tasks are done right, reducing injuries and costs from missed work or disabilities.
The first step in starting an OHS program is to assess the total number of workers in the clinic, including all clinical and administrative staff, to determine the appropriate type of program required. Everyone who is regularly employed in the clinic should be included. WorkSafeBC classifies all community physician and specialist clinics as low-risk workplaces for occupational injuries. Therefore:
- If your clinic has < 50 workers, a less formal health and safety program is required. This program focuses on regular monthly meetings with staff to discuss health and safety matters.
- If your clinic has ≥ 50 workers, a formal health and safety program is required. This program must also include management meetings to review safety activities, incidents, and statistics.
Regardless of type, all health and safety programs should include the following elements, which will be covered in the upcoming sections:
Regular meetings to discuss health and safety.
Regular workplace inspections.
Written safe work practices or procedures for workers.
Worker training, orientation, and supervision.
Incident reporting and investigation.
First aid provisions.
Plans to address workplace-specific hazards, such as workplace violence or hazardous drug safety.
All of these program elements will be covered in the upcoming sections.
Review Registration Requirements and Complete Application Form if Required
| Registration is required if: | Registration is not required if: |
|---|---|
You hire workers. | Your income is exclusively reflected in a T4 or a T4A Statement. |
You operate an incorporated company (whether a partnership or corporation). | You exclusively provide your services to a health authority under a salary agreement as described in the Physician Master Agreement. |
Note: If you receive a T4 statement fulfilling the role of worker, but you also fulfill the role of employer as the business owner, you are required to register.
How to register:
Complete the WorkSafeBC Physician Registration Application form and email it to phpcreg@worksafebc.com.
If you are a sole proprietor (with or without workers) or a partner in a partnership, you are not eligible to register for WorkSafeBC coverage. You can apply for Personal Coverage through WorkSafeBC as optional insurance coverage.
Complete Occupational Health and Safety Policy
An OHS program should have a written health and safety policy that outlines the purpose and health and safety responsibilities. This policy is required for workplaces with 50 or more workers and recommended as best practice for smaller workplaces.
The policy should be dated, signed by the employer, and reviewed annually. Share it with clinic staff and post it in a visible location at the workplace where all staff can easily see it.
Understand Policy and Procedures Review Frequency
Review Frequency
As you navigate the website, you’ll find various health and safety policies and procedures that may apply to your clinic’s operations. Some must be reviewed annually, as per WorkSafeBC regulations, while others are reviewed as needed. Management should lead the review, with input from the worker representative or Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee (JOHSC) (if the clinic requires one). Ensure the approval date is updated on the document after completing the review.
As per WorkSafeBC regulations, the following parts of your OHS program, if applicable to your clinic, must be reviewed at least annually:
| Policy and Procedures | Review Frequency |
|---|---|
Bullying and Harassment Policy and Procedure | Annually |
Emergency Drill | Annually |
Exposure Control Plans (e.g., biological hazards, ionizing radiation) | Annually |
First Aid Assessment | Annually |
Emergency Drills (e.g., first aid, fire, and spill drills) | Annually |
JOHSC Terms of Reference | Annually |
JOHSC Annual Evaluation | Annually |
Occupational Health and Safety Policy | Annually |
PPE Policy and Safe Work Practices | Annually |
Working Alone and In Isolation Policy and Procedure | Annually |
All other elements of your program should be reviewed as needed, such as after a significant change to clinic operations (e.g., a move, renovation, change in procedure, or near miss/injury).
