How To Be A Successful Independent Medical Examiner

This highly acclaimed program will teach you how to be more effective, efficient and successful as an independent medical examiner. A wealth of information is presented in a very lively fashion by Christopher R. Brigham, MD, CIME, the founder of the American Board of Independent Medical Examiners and the Editor-in-Chief of the AMA Guides Newsletter. This program provides practical solutions to everyday problems and challenges associated with IMEs such as dealing with challenging examinees, minimizing risks and liabilities, assessing symptom magnification and malingering, structuring your practice in the most cost-effective manner, writing excellent reports, better promoting your expertise, and generating and collecting a premium fee in a timely manner. Specific action steps are provided which you can immediately implement to make your IME practice more successful. The program includes a 190-page resource manual which follows the presentations and includes sample reports, report templates, pain inventories, practice management forms and much more.� 30 day money back guarantee.� CONTENTS � � Tape IA INTRODUCTION �(20:24) Tape 3A� ASSESSING PAIN: THE MULTIAXIAL APPROACH� (30:05) Tape 5A� CERTIFICATION AND RISK MANAGEMENT FOR EXAMINERS �(42:40) Objectives of program Why are IMEs performed? Challenges Faced By Evaluating Physicians How to deal with pain complaints Malingering vs. symptom magnification behavior Assessing functional capacity Reasons Physicians Really Do IMEs Set your own schedule and be paid well Reach your financial goals How to achieve more control Pain - Disability - Impairment Chronic pain - Acute Pain Undifferentiated somatization disorder Cultural differences in pain expression Subjective nature of pain Pain definitions Measuring manifestations of pain Interference with activities of daily living Reproducible findings Classifications of chronic pain D�s of chronic pain Pain behaviors of examinees Pain drawings and their significance Clinical assessment Pain assessment tools Analog scales Pain disability inventories Affective and somatic description Multi-axial perspective of pain Pulling it all together � Certification of Independent Medical Examiners Requirements and how it can help you Ethics and the IME Examiner Training and preparing for ABIME certification Increased referrals and credibility Certifying boards Risks of doing IMEs Handling difficult examinees Role of informed consent Unrealistic demands of clients Tapping into networks of other specialists Negotiating better agreements Dealing with uncooperative examinees How and when to terminate an exam Reducing your legal risks Attendance of third parties Audio and video recording of exams Discovery of underlying medical conditions Physician/patient relationship Medical malpractice coverage Injuries during exams Tape IB� THE ROLE OF THE PHYSICIAN IN THE IME PROCESS� (23:47) Tape 3B� ASSESSING SYMPTOM MAGNIFICATION AND MALINGERING (25:53) Tape 5B� STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF YOUR PRACTICE� (25:11) Importance of neutrality Maintaining your integrity Increasing the value of your report Identifying your own biases IME arenas and maximizing your potential Who Requests IMEs How are IMEs Used? Inappropriate medical care Key Medical-Legal Terms Pain, impairment, disability Returning Examinees To Work Predicting risk Setting restrictions Liability of IME Physician Pre-employment exams Motivation of participants Defining malingering How often does malingering occur? How often does symptom magnifications occur? Non-physiological findings Waddell findings Consistency of history Appropriate utilization of health care utilization Varying complaints Subjective complaints and objective findings Impact of pain medication on pain complaints Documenting inconsistency Review and use of surveillance material Observing examinees: what to look for Sensory testing Action steps Videotaping by physicians Information gathering: need & competition The size of your market Identifying your referral sources and alliances Economic and political climate and IMEs Managed care and IME�s Identifying your opportunities and threats Market analysis Internal assessment Identifying critical choices Defining strategic vision and mission statement Strategic goals How to achieve goals Define objectives Policies and procedures Tracking key data Action steps Tape 2A� DRAFTING A HIGH QUALITY REPORT (30:32) � Tape 4A� ADVANCED IME PRACTICE MANAGEMENT II� (44:51) � Tape 6A� CAUSATION AND APPORTIONMENT ANALYSIS �(25:59) IME Report: Final Product of IME Process Clients Value Quality Report Addressing Questions Asked Achieving Supportable Conclusions IME Poor Report Critique (p. 103 of manual) IME High Quality Report Critique (p. 111 of manual) Complete, very organized, data review, index Summary and conclusions Using Microsoft Word to produce report dictatinghistory Techniques, systems and protocols Staffing and overhead Use of contract staff IME technology to increase efficiency What to include with your bill Questionnaires, workbooks and checklists Achieving consistency & reliability in testing Improving responsibility Analyzing your current IME practices IME brokers What to do when you are "maxed out" Impact of increasing your fees Offices, resources and equipment Out of town IMEs Scheduling strategies Marketing need for IMEs Range of services you can provide Medical file reviews How to charge like attorneys Consultation fees Expert witness opportunities Evaluating causation Using legally sufficient language Cause and effect Fibromyalgia example Can the physical injury cause the condition Three elements of causation Terms to avoid in medical reports Aggravation, exacerbation, worsening Progression of underlying disorders Gradual onset injury Apportionment issues Low impact collisions Temporal relationships Arising out of and in course of employment Progressive conditions and appointment Tape 2B� ADVANCED IME PRACTICE MANAGEMENT I� (30:40) Tape 4B� EFFECTIVE MARKETING & PREMIUM FEE SETTING AND BILLING TECHNIQUES� (40:17) Tape 6B� IMPAIRMENT EVALUATION: AVOIDING COMMON ERRORS� (29:30) Performing a quality medical evaluation Exceeding expectations of the client Increasing your efficiency and effectiveness Leveraging your time Utilizing the 3-step evaluation process Minimizing your overhead Recognizing client responsibilities Obtaining complete medical records Extracting key medical information efficiently Efficient processes for organizing and abstracting medical information Using computer tables, graphs and templates Using questionnaires effectively and efficiently Relationship and rapport with examinees Informed consent Greeting the examinee Dealing with uncooperative examinees Review of history, accuracy and consistency Dealing with missing information and records Defining the pre-existing status Use of report templates Determining functional ability through physical examination Using checklists Dictating the report Concluding the exam Who are your potential clients? What are clients looking for? How to stay accessible How to market your IME practice Maintaining your current clients How much is a new client worth to you Total quality service Tapping into the IME Network Techniques for building your IME practice Communication with your clients Marketing methods Brokers and locator services Obligation to retain medical records Setting your fees and fee policies Using the AMA guides correctly Common mistakes and errors and how to avoid them When to rate examinees Terms to avoid in your reports The three-step process What to reference from the guides Rating subjective complaints without objective findings Upper extremity impairment evaluations When to "combine" - when to "add" Using the combined value chart Deviating from the Guides Rating RSD, CTS, and causalgia Active or passive testing Strength loss and impairment Lower extremity impairment ratings Anatomic, diagnostic and functional models Spine impairment process and the injury model Action steps Concluding remarks � � �