Dear Accident Compensation Corporation,

I understand that when a person is injured, they are entitled to see a treatment provider for both assessment and treatment. As I understand, and please correct me if I am wrong, this treatment provider might be a GP, a chiropractor, a physiotherapist, a Chinese medicine practitioner, or an osteopath, all registered with ACC. My questions are:

1. If I suffer an injury in New Zealand, am I entitled to treatment with any, or all, of these provider types, if I so choose?

2. Assuming I am not receiving off-work pay, am I able to decide where, and by whom, I receive my treatment?

3. If I do not feel that I am benefitting from, let's say, treatment by the physiotherapist, can I then go and visit a chiropractor, and then continue treatments with that chiropractor?

4. How many treatments would I be entitled to for each type of practitioner?

5. Can you please describe for me what a "trigger number" is? How were trigger numbers determined?

6. Does the trigger number apply to each individual practitioner type that I see? Or is it a collective, composite number for all practitioners, for each injury claim, or does the trigger number apply separately to each type of practitioner (physiotherapist, acupuncturist, chiropractor, etc)? i.e.: if my injury has a "trigger number" of 10, am I therefore entitled to 10 treatments with a physiotherapist, and if I do not rehabilitate, am I also entitled to 10 treatments with a chiropractor?

7. Why are trigger numbers different for different types of practitioners?

8. Can I see more than one type of practitioner on the same day, if I believe it will help my rehabilitation?

9. Can I receive treatment for more than one injury, should I have more than one injury claim, and receive treatment for both injuries on the same day (saving me costs on parking, petrol, my time spent rehabilitating)?

Yours faithfully,

D Lohr