Jan 26th IME Dr Steven Crawford
Town Hall Overview:
Occupational health clinics play a critical role in ensuring the health and safety of workers, but why not enhance their service offerings to include something that could deepen relationships with existing clientele and open the door to new ones? Enter the world of Independent Medical Examinations (IMEs).
Understanding Independent Medical Examinations
An IME is an examination conducted by a certified licensed physician who isn’t involved in the patient’s treatment, making them an independent party. It is typically performed for medical-legal reasons, often associated with work-related injuries. Questions about the worker’s injury, treatment necessity, return to work restrictions, among others, can be answered in an IME, providing clarity and resolve to medical disputes.
The IME Process Explained
The user’s need defines the process of conducting an IME. It begins with scheduling the patient for an examination, examining the patient’s medical records, interviewing the patient, conducting a physical examination, and finally, dictating and sending out the report to the requesting party.
At the heart of this process is communication, which can take place through secure platforms such as fax or email. It’s vital to communicate that this is purely an evaluation, no treatment is being rendered, and patients won’t directly receive the report.
As for the medical examination itself, privacy is paramount. Practitioners can conduct the evaluation in a regular exam room, provided it’s private and allows for a comprehensive medical evaluation. Being observant and ensuring the patient’s claims align with their actions is crucial to the process’s integrity.
Benefits of Offering IMEs
Expanding the scope of your services with IMEs introduces several benefits. It adds another income stream to your practice and solidifies your practice’s reputation in the workers’ comp field. Furthermore, it establishes your practice as a comprehensive solution for all work-related medical conditions.
Challenges and Considerations
While offering IMEs can be rewarding, it’s not without its challenges. Most important is having the right doctor willing to perform IMEs. This task requires a practitioner who is both interested in and apt for detective work since they must discern the veracity of the patient’s alleged injury.
The IME process is more time-intensive than an initial injury evaluation as it involves preliminary investigative work, an extensive patient review and the creation of an exhaustive report.
Remember, depending on the size of the file, this can take from an hour and a half to two hours, which implies the need for available space at your clinic that could be used for this purpose.
Conclusion
In conclusion, while offering IMEs could be a new step for your occupational health clinic, it signifies a step towards complete service provision. Depending on your capability and interests, this could be an excellent addition to your existing services, providing an additional revenue stream and setting your clinic apart in terms of comprehensive care.
Remember, like any new endeavor, success lies in effective communication, thorough examinations, and commitment to the process. Therefore, take the time to understand IMEs, consider the implications for your practice, and if it seems like a fitting step forward, dive into this exciting realm of occupational health. Ensure to have the right medical professionals on board, and keep the focus on an independent, quality examination.
Injury/Loss Management Service Line Model
The Loss Management Service is a proactive approach to injury prevention. Since safety is an essential component of this service line, client companies receive assistance with safety program development and implementation. Supervisor training for accident reporting and investigation is provided to clients on site. The development of functional job descriptions and the establishment of temporary work assignments are also components of this service line. Client companies send all injuries to specific OHS facilities for injury care. Standards are developed to ensure injury management is standardized to provide emergency care, follow-up referrals and company feedback for all injured workers medical data.
Loss Management Manual
The development of a customized Loss Management Manual for policy, procedure, and services to clients is recommended. This manual provides all the necessary templates for policy development, pre-placement screening, OSHA-mandated testing, educational needs, on-site care, safety program development and a complete return-to-work program for the industrial client.
Get the Loss Management Manual here:
members only – 50% off use coupon code: NAOHP-ROCCS-50
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