The medical records required for litigation purposes in cases such as medical malpractice, and personal injury and Workers’ Compensation claims can be voluminous. Analyzing and reviewing them is a gargantuan effort that may prove too difficult to an untrained person. So, is medical record review a big deal? Surely, it is. It is a process that requires professional handling at all steps.
Professionalism Is What Matters
While it is mandatory that patient medical records be maintained in a strictly professional manner, many physicians fall short of this requirement. In such cases, the records which are the prime evidence of the diagnosis, treatment and other vital details of a patient become ambiguous, light and even contain inappropriate information. Out of place remarks and statements in the medical records can often lead to grave legal, medical, financial and regulatory issues. Now, ambiguities, incongruities, errors and medical humor contained in medical records may escape the notice of a non-medical professional such as a lawyer or his paralegal staff trying to make sense of these records for litigation purposes. But, these issues will not by any chance be bypassed by a professional medical record reviewer. What distinguishes that special professional touch?
- A professional medical record review team will ensure that the records are complete in all respects. The medical professionals that form part of the team will identify anything essential that is missing, for instance, an important lab report or an operative report that may be relevant in your case. They will also be able to immediately identify any missing clinical and other documents that may be important.
- Being experienced, they are knowledgeable regarding all the components of a medical record, such as patient history and physical notes, progress notes, physician’s orders, nurses’ notes, medication records, imaging reports, surgery documents, emergency department records and so on.
- The professional eye of a trained medical reviewer will immediately spot any tampering done to the medical records.
- Illegibility is a major problem in medical records. It requires a trained and experienced person to understand the unclear handwriting of physicians.
Your Workflow Is Made Simple
Lawyers and attorneys that have utilized efficient medical review services will surely endorse these as a cost and time saving option. Providers also make your workflow much simpler with organized medical record analysis and review. On your part, you don’t have to tussle with the complex medical records. Your specialized review team will provide you with easy-to-read reports that contain all the required information regarding the patient. You just have to use the info as required to prepare your case.
Apart from legal entities, physicians, insurance companies, private corporations and chart review firms also stand to benefit from systematic medical review services.
