WCB-Alberta C050: Physician First Report Guide

General practitioners file this combined report and invoice for every first visit on a work injury in Alberta. It gives WCB-Alberta the mechanism, findings, treatment plan and the worker's capabilities, which the adjudicator uses to decide the claim and start return-to-work planning. Reporting is electronic, through myWCB Electronic Injury Reporting or accredited medical software, and the report fee shrinks the later WCB receives it.

Who completes it

General practitioners complete the whole report and invoice, and WCB-Alberta's reference guide extends the C050 to emergency room specialists; other specialists use the C568. The worker and employer report separately, and the employer must report within 72 hours if the injury needs more than first aid or causes time off past the accident day.

How to fill it in

Participant details

Your billing number, contract ID and role (skill code or specialization) may pre-fill from your myWCB user ID; if you hold more than one, choose from the drop-down. General and family practice uses contract ID 000001, and a wrong contract ID can delay payment. Start by searching for the patient: a match with an existing WCB client lists their claim numbers and pre-fills some fields, while no match or several matches lets you create the report directly.

Accident details

Say whether the injury developed over time or came from a specific incident. For a condition that developed over time, the date of accident is normally the first date of medical treatment for it, and you describe the job duties and physical demands that caused or increased the symptoms. For an incident, describe how and when it happened. First reports should also cover first aid, EMS, and the physician or facility that gave first treatment.

Injury details

Record symptoms as the patient describes them (pain, numbness, tingling), their site, and whether they are local, regional or referred. Objective findings should cover range of motion, palpation, flexibility, strength, swelling, neurological deficit and other relevant findings, with positive and pertinent negative tests. Diagnoses use ICD-9 codes (for example, 724 for back strain), which carry over to the invoice.

Treatment plan details

Say whether opioids were prescribed at this visit; WCB uses the answer to decide opioid coverage. List referrals to allied health practitioners, non-opioid medications with dose, frequency and duration, booked surgeries with dates, and complicating factors such as psychosocial issues or pre-existing conditions. Record consultations, referrals and investigations by category, type and details, and tick Expedite where the option appears. You can also ask to be contacted by a case manager or WCB medical consultant, or refer the worker to a return-to-work provider.

Return-to-work details

Answer whether the patient will miss or has missed work beyond the accident date; answer no if they can do regular or modified duties or only miss time for medical appointments. If they did miss time, say whether they have returned to any work, including modified work, and whether they are on modified hours (with the hours per day they can manage) or modified duties. Off work or modified work opens the capabilities fields.

Current capabilities

For each listed activity select Able, Unable or Limited to, noting hours and maximums where applicable, then add other restrictions or comments. Give the date you expect a return to pre-accident work or, if permanent restrictions are likely, the expected date of maximum medical recovery; progress reports can revise it. The C459 guide classes work as limited (up to 5 kg), light (5 to 10 kg), medium (10 to 20 kg) or heavy (over 20 kg), and frequency as never, occasional, frequent or constant.

Other information

Attach up to three files in DOC, DOCX, TIF/TIFF, PDF, RTF or TXT format. MRI, X-ray, CT and ultrasound reports, imaging requisitions, EMG referrals, specialist consultation reports and operative reports are capped at 1 MB each; chart notes and other files at 2 MB. Before submitting, check that every section is complete: mandatory fields carry an asterisk, and incomplete reports cannot be submitted electronically or processed.

Invoice information

The billing number, contract ID and ICD-9 codes pre-fill from the report. Add a billing contact if someone else completes the invoice, then the skill code, an optional clinic reference number, the facility type and the health service codes for the visit under Alberta Health Schedule of Medical Benefits rules, with up to three modifiers per code, calls (units) and encounters (up to nine). A comprehensive visit (03.04A) should not be billed automatically for every first WCB visit.

Common mistakes

Leaving a mandatory field blank: fields marked with an asterisk must be completed, and incomplete reports can't be submitted electronically or processed.
Assuming the clock stops when you finish the report; fee tiers use WCB's receipt timestamp, not the time you sent it to a vendor.
Picking the wrong billing number or contract ID from the drop-down; WCB-Alberta warns that a wrong contract ID may delay payment.
Answering yes to missed work when the worker only missed time for medical appointments or is doing regular or modified duties.
Billing a comprehensive visit (03.04A) automatically for every first WCB visit; Alberta Health's complete-examination rules still apply.
Health service codes or modifiers missing a letter or digit (CMGP with three calls is CMGP03), or the letter O typed for zero, which sends invoices back.

Submitting and payment

How to submit it: Create a new report in myWCB Electronic Injury Reporting or send it through an accredited medical software vendor; electronic reporting is required, and paper C050s can only be ordered. WCB-Alberta says legislation requires the report within 48 hours of treatment or assessment.
Who pays: WCB-Alberta pays a first report fee at same-day, on-time or late rates under its physician fee schedule effective April 1, 2025, triggered by creating a new report in Electronic Injury Reporting, and the visit is billed on the same invoice using Alberta Health Schedule of Medical Benefits codes.

Good to know

Same-day means WCB receives the report by 10:00 a.m. Mountain Time the next business day; on-time means by 10:00 a.m. on the fourth business day after the exam (day 0).
Timing uses WCB's own receipt timestamp, not the time you completed the report or passed it to your software vendor.
Section 34 of the Workers' Compensation Act requires a report within two days of first attendance if the injury is likely to disable the worker beyond the accident day, and whenever WCB asks.
If a claim is later denied, WCB-Alberta does not recover what it paid for first-visit medical aid and reporting, though it may recover other payments and redirect you to Alberta Health.

Get the official form

Download the current version from the source each time; forms change without notice.

Physician first report (C050)

Official page

Get the note ready with Vero

WCB-Alberta takes this form through its online services or your EMR, so there is no PDF to fill. Vero Scribe writes the visit note it draws on, so the details are ready when you complete it.

See how Vero Scribe works

How this list is checked

A form is listed only after its name and number were confirmed on the issuing agency’s or insurer’s own website, or in the form itself. Each entry links to that source. The list was last checked in October 2026. Forms change without notice, so download the current version from the official page before you fill it in.

Sources for this guide

Vero is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the agencies and insurers listed here. Read our editorial policy.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still submit a paper C050?

WCB-Alberta lists the C050 as not available for download; paper copies must be ordered, at least 10 at a time. Its Physician's Reference Guide (C459) calls electronic reporting the required means of reporting, whether through myWCB Electronic Injury Reporting, an accredited medical software vendor or another approved system, and says it speeds payment and gets information to decision-makers sooner.

What do same-day, on-time and late mean for the C050 fee?

The exam date is day 0, and business days are Monday to Friday in Mountain Time, excluding listed holidays. Same-day: WCB receives the report by 10:00 a.m. MT the next business day. On-time: within three business days, by 10:00 a.m. MT on the fourth. Anything later is paid at the late rate, based on WCB's receipt timestamp.

When do I use a C050 instead of a C151?

Use the C050 only for the worker's initial visit: it is required for all WCB injuries and completed at every first visit. For follow-up visits where something relevant has changed since the first report, create a C151 progress report. If a follow-up visit has no relevant change to report, bill it on a C568 medical invoice instead.

Do I need a WCB claim number to file a C050?

No. The mandatory fields are the worker's PHN, WCB claim number or tombstone information, plus your name, WCB billing number, contract ID, exam date, injury date and health service codes; the worker's name and birth date are highly recommended. In Electronic Injury Reporting, a patient search shows any existing claim and pre-fills some fields.