Module H05 · Health Track

ACC Paperwork
with AI

ACC documentation is where NZ GPs lose the most time to administration. AI doesn't replace the clinical judgment — but it writes the first draft so you spend your time reviewing, not typing.

⏱ ~30 min 🇳🇿 NZ-specific

📋 The ACC paperwork burden

New Zealand's ACC system means that GPs take on more injury-related documentation than their Australian or UK counterparts. An ACC45 for a new claim takes 8–15 minutes to complete properly. ACC18 treatment provider forms, medical certificates, and return-to-work assessments add further load.

The good news: these forms are highly structured and require information you already documented in your Heidi note. AI is very good at extracting the right information and mapping it to the right form fields.

Critical reminder: De-identify your notes before pasting into any external AI tool. Replace patient name with "the patient" and remove NHI numbers and dates of birth. This is covered thoroughly in Module H06.

📄 ACC forms and how AI helps

ACC45 Injury claim — initial medical certificate
The most common ACC form. Documents the injury, mechanism, initial treatment, and estimated recovery. Completed at first presentation.
AI workflow: Paste your Heidi note from the consult. Ask AI to extract: mechanism of injury, body part affected, initial treatment given, estimated time off work, and any immediate follow-up needed. Paste this summary into the ACC45 fields in Indici or the ACC portal.
ACC18 Treatment provider claim form
Used by allied health providers (physios, specialists) billing ACC for treatment. GPs sometimes need to complete supporting clinical information.
AI workflow: Use AI to draft the "clinical justification for treatment" section — paste the injury history and ask for a concise clinical rationale for the requested treatment type.
Fit Note Fit to work / return to work certificate
Assessment of what the patient can and cannot do in a work context. ACC and employers request these at various stages of recovery.
AI workflow: Ask AI to draft the "functional capacity" section — what the patient can do, cannot do, and with what modifications. Input is the Heidi assessment of their current status.

💬 The ACC45 prompt

Use this with a de-identified Heidi note from an injury consult:

Prompt — ACC45 Information Extraction
I am a NZ GP completing an ACC45 injury claim form. From the consultation note below, extract and organise the following information into clearly labelled sections: 1. MECHANISM OF INJURY — how and when the injury occurred 2. INJURY TYPE — body part and nature of injury (e.g., sprain, fracture, laceration) 3. INITIAL TREATMENT — what treatment was provided at this consult 4. DISABILITY — estimated time unable to work at full capacity, and nature of restriction 5. FOLLOW-UP — any specialist referrals, imaging, or planned review De-identified consultation note: [PASTE HEIDI NOTE HERE] Format each section as a short paragraph suitable for copying into a form field. Flag anything unclear or that requires the GP's clinical judgment to determine.

🔄 Return to work assessments

Return-to-work documentation requires careful language — both to protect the patient's interests and to be accurate for the employer. AI handles the structural drafting well but requires your review for anything sensitive.

Prompt — Return to Work Assessment
Based on the clinical information below, draft a return-to-work functional assessment for ACC/employer purposes. [PASTE RELEVANT CLINICAL NOTES — de-identified] Structure the assessment as: 1. CURRENT STATUS — brief clinical summary of where the patient is in their recovery 2. CAPACITY — what work tasks the patient CAN do currently (be specific where possible) 3. RESTRICTIONS — what they CANNOT do, with a timeframe where possible 4. GRADUATED RETURN — any recommended phased return to full duties 5. REVIEW DATE — when reassessment is recommended Use neutral, factual clinical language. Do not make predictions beyond what the clinical evidence supports. Flag any sections where the GP needs to make a judgment call.

Always review RTW assessments carefully. These documents have legal weight. The clinical decision — what the patient can and cannot do — must be yours. AI drafts the language; you sign the judgment.

⚡ Setting up Heidi for injury consults

If you see significant ACC volume, create a dedicated Heidi template for injury presentations. Configure it in Heidi → Settings → Note Templates → New Template:

Exercise H05.1
Complete a mock ACC45 from a recording
  1. In Heidi, record a 2-minute mock injury consult: "28-year-old male, injured right ankle at football training last night. Rolled on uneven ground, immediate pain and swelling. No numbness. Able to weight-bear with discomfort. Ottawa rules negative. Diagnosis: Grade 2 lateral ankle sprain. Treatment: RICE, ibuprofen 400mg TID with food. Off work for 5 days from desk job, off field sports for 4 weeks. Review if not improving in 7 days."
  2. Use the ACC45 prompt above with your Heidi note
  3. Review the extracted information — is it accurate? Complete?
  4. Note what you would need to manually adjust before entering into the real ACC45
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