How to Optimize Mass Tort Medical Record Retrieval

Legal cases that involve a medical component need the support of medical record retrieval services to collect the relevant records and find crucial medical evidence. Enlisting such support facilitates the retrieval, organization, and analysis of voluminous medical records. It will also help the attorneys and law firms reduce costs and better manage their time and resources. In mass tort cases, the medical record volume is huge because of the large number of plaintiffs involved. For successful processing of mass tort cases and presenting them in court, the record retrieval process needs to be optimized.

Mass Tort Medical Record Retrieval – Key Considerations

Needless to say, mass tort cases are among the largest types of litigations and may take years to complete. To access the medical records involved and organize the medical data of their clients, attorneys need the latest advanced systems. When considering the optimization process, the following factors are of crucial importance:

• Choose and organize the mass tort plaintiffs: This is one of the most essential things to do to optimize the mass tort record retrieval process. This process must be well-planned, organized and coherent. Now, attorneys use the electronic plaintiff fact sheet or ePFS, which is legally approved and used as a standard form. In this context, attorneys can utilize the services provided by medical record review companies that can prepare the all-important plaintiff fact sheets.
• Get all the necessary authorizations and subpoenas: In mass tort cases, there will be hundreds of thousands of requests to be sent out and as many consent forms to sign. The plaintiffs involved have to provide HIPAA authorizations for the requests of private and protected medical information. Attorneys must have the right personnel and resources to handle these jobs and expedite them.
• Reduce the time and cost involved in mass tort records retrieval: The cost of collecting and organizing hundreds of thousands of medical records can be huge. It also involves a lot of time. Attorneys and their legal teams need to focus on controlling these expenses, and this is best done either by automating the record retrieval process or by outsourcing the same to a good medical review company.
• Identify all the correct custodians of medical records: This often turns out to be a real challenge because plaintiffs may not always know the correct custodian of their medical records. This could prove very challenging for attorneys who need the medical documents. The best way to ease this task is by utilizing professional medical record retrieval services. Professional providers ensure that all the required medical records are traced to the particular custodians and obtained in a timely manner. This will save attorneys both time and money.
• Minimize follow-up requests: To optimize mass tort medical record retrieval, the follow-up requests must be kept to a minimum. This can be achieved by preparing the medical records request in keeping with what medical providers require and understanding the scope of the request.
• Keep track of, manage and organize the medical record requests: This is very important when it comes to optimizing mass tort record retrieval. Attorneys and their in-office teams may find this tedious and time-consuming, which makes outsourcing a sensible option. Reliable medical record retrieval companies will have advanced software to automate all these processes and keep you informed.

In short, medical record retrieval is not a simple process – it is complex but must be done correctly for successful mass tort litigation. Obtaining proper authorization from the concerned plaintiff, knowing who the medical record custodians are, tracking and managing the record requests – must all be done properly and in a timely manner. Most mass tort attorneys prefer to partner with experienced medical record retrieval companies so that the entire process is smooth and uncomplicated. With such efficient support, mass tort attorneys can focus on the right litigation strategies that will help them present the case in the best perspective and secure the due compensation for their clients.