How to Choose a Medical Records Management Company

Medical records management companies will help you with the detailed and time-consuming process of MR analysis. By outsourcing this specialized task, you can effectively and efficiently prepare to pursue or defend an injury-related claim while simultaneously cutting costs.

Consider the strategic value of high quality medical record analysis and how the outcome of your claim often hinges on the information contained in these reports. A worthy records review partner will allow your team to achieve better results in less time by expertly analyzing the information contained in the medical records and providing your team with a roadmap to the medically related elements of your case. When evaluating the caliber of medical records management companies, pay attention to the following criteria.

•Experience-The medical record management service you choose should not be the "new kid on the block." You would not trust a law student to determine the value or exposure your client has in a claim, would you? That said, experience is a requirement. Qualified medical legal services should contain a host of legal nursing consultants, billing auditors and life care planners who have spent years in the field dealing with patients and have also become experts of the legal issues surrounding injury litigation. Select a company with Legal Nurse Consultants that possess writing and analytical skills that allow them to clearly identify and convey the intricate medical and legal complications of each case. Choose a MR management company with service diversity that includes billing auditors that not only evaluate when bills are within the usual and customary but also identify inconstancies in the billing and medical records of a patient. Qualified bill auditors and coders will prove to be skilled forensic investigators of medical records. Finally, your MR analysis partner should have access to Life Care Planning experts who combine experience in patient care and implementing life care plans as well as generating them to produce strong, testifiable plans with projected future care needs and the associated costs. These plans place a monetary value on future medical damages to take into consideration when determining settlement figures.

Acquiring a pantheon of skilled Legal Nurse Consultants, Billing Auditors and Life Care Planners does not happen over night, but rather from years of selective recruiting, extensive vetting and continued education. Building a relationship with an experienced medical record management company will put these resources effectively at your fingertips,

• Reputation-A medical record management company's work may speak for itself, but so do its satisfied clients. Choose medical legal services from a provider with a proven reputation. When searching the web for the right company, take time to read the testimonials and client lists on their site. If there are not any, feel free to request them.

Of course, you cannot believe everything you read, so do not stop at the testimonials. They might be enough for you to consider contacting the medical record management company, but before you choose to outsource medical review duties to them, ask for references. If they are good, you should be able to hear it from satisfied clients they have serviced in the past.

• Communication and Availability-The litigation process may sometimes be compared to a constant whirlwind of activity from discovery actions, appearances, motions and briefs, settlement conferences to the final outcome and resolution. With that in mind, it's important to find a medical record management company with open communication lines. You don't have time to wait around for returned phone calls, especially when you're on a deadline. You need availability. Often this level of communication and availability can only be provided by a company large enough to foster a client service department. Client service representatives should be accessible and responsive, so that when something pops up the evening before a deposition, your client service representative will be there with an answer. If the medical records management company you are considering doesn't value excellent client service and appreciate your business, you might consider looking elsewhere.

• Customization-Once you use a medical record management company and they do an exemplary job, it would be nice to use them for all your injury related cases. However, every case you receive is a unique matter and is at a different phase of litigation. Some cases may require just a short medical summary for screening purposes, many cases will benefit from a thorough yet succinct review for an early settlement conference while others may demand a detailed case analysis in preparation for trial. Your chosen medical legal services group should offer a wide range of packages that are customized to your phase of litigation and will focus on your individual case and budget needs. That means no case or project should be too big or too small.

•Process-Pay careful attention to the medical records analysis process the company uses. A good MR management service doesn't give your records to one legal nurse consultant and say "that's the end of that." A trustworthy team should send your records through a multi-phase medical record analysis system that guarantees high quality reports. This insures that no stone is left unturned and you won't miss any detail that could affect your strategy or the outcome of your case.

And if your medical records analysis process finds the need for medical expert testimony, they should be able to identify the right experts and provide some level of testimony as well. Partnering with a MR management company should prove all-inclusive, cutting out the need to look elsewhere for medical review help.

A strong medical record management company will provide you with the details you need to make informed, strategic decisions early in the life of your claim to ensure a favorable outcome.. Find a medical record management service who meets the above criteria to revolutionize the way you prepare for every phase of the litigation process.