You could see a KINNECT Doctor for Occupational Medicine services including: 

• IME (Independent Medical Examination) 
• Fitness for Duty Assessment 
• A general consultation 

Depending on your location, you’ll either see the KINNECT Doctor in person, or via Telehealth.  Your appointment letter will detail where/how you will attend. 

If you are referred to KINNECT for an Occupational Medicine service, you will see either: 

• An Occupational Physician (full name Occupational & Environmental Physician) is a consultant specialist doctor who advises your company how the work environment can affect employees’ health, and how their health can affect their ability to work safely. They are experts in injury management and have expertise in the health risks of common chemicals and hazardous substances often found in workplaces. Occupational Physicians doctors are qualified with the Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 
• A Senior Occupational Health Doctor is a doctor with considerable experience in Occupational Health. They have expertise in helping people to be safe at work and to recover from physical and/or psychological injuries or illness. KINNECT’s Occupational Health Doctors are all General Practitioners at a minimum, with many having done additional training and studies in the area of Occupational Medicine. Our Occupational Health Doctors are all registered with The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP). 

Many of the workers seen by our Doctors aren’t always sure why they have been referred. Employers who refer workers for Occupational Medicine services are generally seeking an expert opinion on a person’s health and work. 

Everyone’s situation is a little different but our Doctors often see workers who: 

• May have been off work with an injury/illness for a considerable time; 
• Are experiencing a complex injury or illness, or set-backs in their recovery and return to work;  
• Are suspected to have or are experiencing a new medical issue/condition,  and they need guidance about how to continue working safely;
• Have experienced an incident at work that has impacted on their health and work. 

We believe it is important for you to know why you’ve been referred before your appointment with us. If you are unsure why you’ve been referred, we recommend that you engage with your employer about your referral and get as much information as possible. 

If you’ve been referred to KINNECT for an appointment, you should receive a letter from your employer with details of your appointment time and location. 

You’ll then be contacted by KINNECT to complete a number of forms including a consent form and a medical history questionnaire.

We will send you the consent form to complete electronically. It details how KINNECT will use, store and share your personal and health information. Our principles are: 

• Usage. We will only use your data for the specific purpose of conducting the required assessment. 
• Sharing. We will only share with your employer the data that is necessary in order to make the appropriate health recommendations. Your information will not be shared with any other party. 
• Storage. Your information is securely stored for 40 years as per the Australian Health Data Standards. 

For more information, you can also view a copy of our Privacy Policy.

This form will invite you to complete details of your past and present medical condition/s in order for our Doctors to make informed clinical decisions.  The form will ask for your health information, any surgeries you may have had, your family medical history, medications and social history. 

Please be reassured that the information is gathered in an effort to find the cause and impact of your illness/injuries and to understand your current situation.  Please complete the form honestly and in as much detail as you can. This will help ensure our Doctors have all the information they need for your appointment. 

Yes. You’ll receive a reminder from our team ahead of your appointment by email and text message.  

The appointment with the Doctor will usually last 60 minutes. 

Your appointment will consist of three main elements.

Informed Consent.
The first thing the KINNECT Doctor will do is run through your consent again to ensure you have understood how your health and personal information will be used, stored and shared. Once you have consented, the appointment will move to the next stage. 

Your Medical History.
The Doctor will then go through your Medical History and review any reports from your employer, GP, any treating Allied Health Professionals and Specialists.  

A General Conversation.
The Doctor will then ask you questions about the nature of your illness/injury, the symptoms, treatment, impact on your work role and your life outside of work. This is your opportunity to tell your side of the story so the more open and honest you are during the conversation, the more appropriate and specific the recommendations the Doctor can make. 

After your appointment, the Doctor will gather any additional information that is required. This could include. 

• Follow-up conversations with you, your doctors or treating professionals; 
• A visit to your workplace or worksite to understand your working environment and daily job tasks so they can better understand the risks; 
• A functional assessment so the doctor can understand your current physical capabilities and tolerances for work. 

Within 10 days, the doctor will provide a report to your employer. 

A Final Report will include the Doctor’s recommendations about the next steps.  

An Interim Report may be sent if the doctor is awaiting further information at this point. The doctor will submit the Final Report once all the information they have gathered is in.  

The recommendations the Doctor provides in the Final Report will be specific to your personal situation, your job role and where you are in the recovery journey. The recommendations are there to ensure your safety.  Our doctors are advocates for ‘The Health Benefits of Good Work’, or in other words, they believe that work is good for you and with the right tweaks, can really aid in your recovery. Their recommendations may include suggestions like: 

• Light duties  

• Some restrictions on particular tasks or duties for a period of time 
• Avoiding safety-critical work while you are still recovering 
• Moving you temporarily to a different site or role while you are recovering 
• Preventing your re-exposure to a particular safety risk 

Please note it is not within the Doctor’s scope to recommend that your employment is terminated. 

Unfortunately, we cannot provide you with a copy of the Doctor’s report, however the good news is that you are definitely able to ask your employer for this information.