To IME, or not to IME? is a recently updated web version of a newsletter which first appeared in print in May, 1996. It was authored by Leonard Grossman, Ph.D., a psychologist and diplomate of The American Board of Forensic Examiners.
Your psychiatric IME report fails to provide useful case management information.
It's no secret. The quality and usefulness of psychiatric IME reports vary
greatly from one examiner to the next. While your regular appointment service might do a good job arranging straight medical IMEs, most have no real experience or expertise in selecting an appropriate psychiatric examiner.
Which Type of Specialist should you Employ?
Besides, you may not want a psychiatric examiner at all! For example, if primary symptoms and complaints involve cognition (memory, attention span, concentration, etc.), you're much better off with a neuropsychologist who can perform a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation with testing. If malingering is suspected in a hotly-contested, high profile case, you'd be wise to employ a psychologist with testing experience who can adminster an appropriate malingering test battery (WMT, CARB, etc.).
Even when you're certain a psychiatric specialist should be employed, you still need to have a thorough clinical understanding of case dynamics before selecting your examiner. Are drugs or alcohol involved, and should you use a board certified addictionologist? Is medication management an issue? Do you need an occupational psychiatrist? Are the claimant's care givers disagreeing on diagnosis and treatment? Does the prognosis fit the symptoms? Is the claimant's failure to return to medical practice attributable to psychiatric illness, or is it based on choice?
Don't Play the Lottery!
Relying on a second party IME service to select your examiner is a bit like playing the lottery: once in a while you win, but most of the time you lose. What you normally get from an IME company is an examiner picked from a directory listing and the same generic IME referral questions used for medical disability cases. Is this what you want for claims which hold hundreds of thousands of dollars in benefit reserves?
To address this dilemma, The Forest Hills IPA has developed a successful IME process which can deliver the disability-related findings you need in a format
you can utilize. Our approach brings professional clarity to diagnostic issues and back-to-work prognosis. And where others fail, it clinically identifies
instances of malingering, symptom exaggeration, and out-right faking.
A clinically-structured IME formulated by a licensed professional who has reviewed the case history.
First, a licensed mental health professional thoroughly reviews the case file.
When requested, we will also provide a formal written review.
Step two is a professionally-crafted letter of instruction to the IME
examiner, who is selected from our nationwide, pre-screened provider list. The
letter summarizes relevant history and clearly identifies the clinical,
diagnostic, prognostic, and back-to-work issues which need to be addressed.
Step three is a careful professional reading of the IME report before it's
accepted and sent to the insurer. Finally, we include a special cover letter
which summarizes the IME findings, and details and explains our follow-up case
management recommendations.
Sound interesting? Well, major disability insurers who use this service have
been so pleased with the results that I'm cordially inviting you to call and
allow me to share some specific examples with you.
Or, if you're like me and believe that "the proof lies not in words, but in
the pudding," call and we'll send you an actual confidentialized IME report
and case history. If either of these options interest you, please contact me
at our toll free number (888) 779-2524. You can also check out our new special on-line guide, The ABCs of Managing Psychiatric Disability Cases.
Sincerely,
Leonard Grossman Ph.D.,
President, The Forest Hills IPA Inc.
Diplomate, The American Board of Forensic Examiners
May 1996 Newsletter
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