Independent Medical Examinations

So here is my first blog to provide you with some insights on how things work from inside the medical community. If you are involved in a personal injury and claim to be disabled or to need medical treatment the insurance company deems excessive, you may be sent for an "Independent" Medical Examination (IME). Why did I put the word "Independent" in quotes?

Well, think about the business aspect of an IME from the insurance company's point of view. If the insurance company sends me a patient for an IME and I regulalry (more than 50%) of the time conclude that the patient needs additional treatment or is disabled and entitled to full benefits, do you think the insurance company will keep sending me patients? I think the answer is obvious and is what takes the objectivity out of so many of these evaluations.

The system basically allows insurance companies to find a doctor that they know will side with them on a regular basis, has the legal right to demand you see that doctor, and your future medical care will then demand on those findings. So it is a big problem and the reason why I will not do these evaluations, even though they pay great money. The same problem goes for legal cases. Lawyers know exactly which doctors will say what they want to hear and can basically pay for an opinion if they shop around long enough. It should be note that there are many upstanding and honest doctors that perform IMEs and forensic evaluations, but the main point of this blog entry is that the system is not truly independent and filled with corruption.

I would be interested in hearing stories from others who had an IME and if he/she felt it was actually "independent."