Medical record retrieval for mass tort cases is a real challenge for attorneys, being time consuming and high-priced. Mass tort litigation, which involves comprehensive medical record review to find important medical details related to the injury/impairment, is designed to reduce the number of court cases in the system. Litigation of this type arises when consumers are injured by pharmaceutical drugs, medical devices or other products. It allows an attorney or groups of attorneys to represent several injured parties in individual cases. Resources, information and thoughts can be shared among the lawyers, which would also ensure that each person harmed receives a fair settlement for his/her injury. Mass tort cases are quite complex and involve requesting, collecting, organizing and reviewing a large number of medical records. Attorneys can utilize medical record retrieval services, which would allow their in-house staff to focus on other important aspects of the case.
Medical record retrieval service is proving to be a great option for mass tort law firms handling huge volumes of medical documentation. Service providers provide you with the requested documents and information within the required turnaround time. Typically, they will have a foolproof, time-tested strategy for quick and efficient retrieval of the medical documents. How to choose a good provider? Here are some tips.
- Make sure that the provider gives secure access to its website and your medical records via a login and password.
- Have a clear idea about their privacy protection measures.
- Ensure that the firm can provide a list of reference clients whom you can contact if needed.
- Have a clear understanding of their service level agreements that provides information regarding their functioning and turnaround time.
- See that their services are competitively priced.
- The medical record retrieval firm should ensure compliance of federal and state HIPAA guidelines.
- Timely communication is very important and your service provider must immediately forward the record request to the concerned healthcare providers and also provide you with an ongoing and timely report regarding the status. The medical record retrieval company should send alerts if additional information is needed.
- Speed is another significant feature your service provider must have so that the medical records are delivered to you in a timely manner whether your need is to settle a case, respond to discovery, or make/oppose a motion for summary judgment.
- Ideally, your service provider must maintain good relationships with healthcare providers so that they respond quickly and provide a complete set of medical records. Partnering with such a provider will help improve the quality of document production, reduce cost and speed the process up.
Medical record retrieval services will prove beneficial for law firms and attorneys dealing with mass tort cases. An experienced MRR firm will ensure cost-effective, reliable services for processing, monitoring and tracking medical record requests. You also have the peace of mind knowing that the record retrieval and management process is being handled by an HIPAA-compliant firm that ensures total confidentiality of patient information.
