Medical records are the prime evidence in personal injury, mass tort and medical negligence cases. Attorneys handling such cases need to identify the medical facts that are most relevant to their case and start preparing the case. However, medical records are notorious for their complexity largely brought about by illegible handwriting, strange abbreviations and the many lab tests and other diagnostic procedures that are beyond the understanding of a non-medical person. This is where specialized training such as that the professionals at a medical review company has becomes highly significant.
Ease the Tediousness of Obtaining and Comprehending the Medical Chart
When trying to obtain medical records from a hospital, the process is often tedious with many hospitals take more than two weeks to release the chart for review by an attorney. In case there are liability issues involved, the hospital counsel may be asked to review the chart before releasing the same to an attorney. Certain documents may be eliminated from the chart quoting reasons such as lack of consent. The challenge involved is to secure all the relevant medical records so that a clear view of the case can be obtained. Only an experienced professional can identify major issues such as missing records, potential alterations in the chart, and other confusing details. Sometimes, on-site reviews may become necessary when there are concerns such as legibility problems or changes made to the medical record. Trained medical review professionals that typically comprise medical professionals and documentation specialists can skillfully extract important data from the chart, and also spot tampering by considering the colors of inks, number of pages in the original compared to that sent to the attorney, pen pressure and handwriting.
Benefit from Factual Summaries
Medical review experts can organize the medical documents, easily capture the relevant medical data and present it in chronological order in the specified format. This will facilitate a clear understanding of all injuries, diagnostic and treatment time frames as well as various providers. You will gain access to all clinical data, history of injury/illness, treatments provided, medications and other crucial facts. The time you spend on making sense of the medical details will be reduced from 25% to 40% with help from experts. You can also request for embedded hyperlinks into the index and throughout the summary to provide instant access to all cited documents.
A reliable medical review service will help to quickly identify the strengths and weaknesses of a case. With expert review and analysis of the medical chart, legal professionals can reduce the complexity of medical litigation while also saving valuable time and effort.
