Medical record organization and analysis is an important first step for attorneys handling cases that involve medical complexities. Mass tort cases and medical malpractice cases, for instance, can be highly complex and require very special expertise when it comes to reviewing the medical records and abstracting the necessary medical data to build the case. In other words, the medical records need to be reviewed, analyzed and summarized in chronological order by an experienced medical review team comprising physicians, and/or legal nurse consultants. Often, mass tort cases require the efficiency of a dedicated medical review team, given the large volume medical records involved.
In a class action suit, sorting and organizing the medical documents related to hundreds of plaintiffs is time- and labor-intensive. Similarly, in medical malpractice litigation, the entire lawsuit is built around the medical records because these documents are the only source from which an objective record of the patient’s condition and the care provided can be obtained. In cases involving high medical complexity, the proper organization of the medical chart and unbiased review are crucial considerations.
Medical Record Organization and Review
The medical records retrieved from various healthcare facilities need to be chronologically organized so that there is absolute clarity regarding the timeline and the plaintiff’s various medical encounters. All dictated physician notes/interviews will be transcribed and included along with the medical record set. Once the records are properly organized with indexing/bookmarking, the attorney can work with a well-organized medical record set. These can be referred along with medical case chronology or plaintiff profile for by hyperlinking appropriate keywords within the medical records. The review process includes summarizing the case history and generating a medical records audit checklist that can be easily reviewed by healthcare providers as well as lawyers.
Here is a breakdown of the process:
- Sorting and categorizing of the medical records.
- Preparation of medical case summary wherein the important points are highlighted.
- All medical record dates, procedures, medical events, treatments and other details will be accurately captured.
- All duplicate records are deleted. A log is created of the records that are deleted.
- Each and every essential data is analyzed and categorized carefully. The information obtained is integrated into a complete report.
- The analysis report can be delivered in PDF or Word format. The PDF format has advantages such as hyperlinks to easily navigate to the respective source pages, and bookmarking to enable organization of the documents by user-defined categories.
- OCR searching for keywords and phrases.
- Any missing information pertaining to medical records/bills is identified.
- Charts and timelines are created to highlight the treatment provided.
- Definitions and footnotes are created of uncommon terminology used in the records.
Sorting, organizing, and indexing large medical charts in-house may require a very long time. Considerable non-billable attorney and staff time could be spent on ordering, organizing, and summarizing the medical records.
So, what constitutes a practical solution?
Outsource Medical Record Organization
Outsourced medical record organization and medical record review could prove beneficial for mass tort and medical malpractice attorneys. Professional medical reviewers can quickly organize large volumes of medical records. immediately on receiving the records, they analyze the documents and highlight important class parameters to determine claimant inclusion in the class action lawsuit. In cases that involve hundreds of plaintiffs, spreadsheets can be prepared focusing on specific parameters, including hyperlinks that link to the actual medical chart for easy confirmation. When the organization of medical records is done by a third-party, it helps save hundreds and hundreds of hours of a law-firm’s staff time.
Organizing and summarizing large-volume medical records has become indispensable for settling health insurance claims and workers’ compensation claims. In cases involving medical complexities, attorneys can surely benefit from the service provided by an experienced medical review company.
