Health and Case Management Limited (HCML) has launched a LASPO-compliant medico-legal reporting service which will provide totally independent medical assessments in personal injury cases.
The company claims the system, which utilises a panel of independent medical experts provided by React Medical, will speed recovery times, allow for a more flexible treatment process and greatly reduce the administrative burden on referring customers.
Once instructed, HCML’s dedicated physiotherapist team perform an initial assessment to determine whether immediate treatment is required, while an online portal facilitates simultaneous instruction of a medico-legal report.
If it is deemed the injured party would benefit from professional case management, HCML’s separate and extensive case management capability can be instructed at the appropriate time.
Keith Bushnell, chief executive of HCML, said the new service would ensure a stepped-care, evidence-based and cohesive approach to rehabilitation, and enhance the injured party’s journey:
“When it comes to personal injury cases, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Our system allows us to do what is best for the specific individual while providing value to the referring party.
“Early intervention is absolutely vital to help the client return to their pre-accident state as quickly as possible, and clients should not be left waiting if immediate treatment is determined to be the best approach.”
He added: “With fixed legal fees for low-end claims being significantly cut, it is important that clients are still given the best possible care pathway and helped to return to work, and that solicitors deal with these types of cases quickly and efficiently while decreasing the administrative burden.”
Dr David Pearce, medical director at React Medical said the partnership would provide greater transparency for all parties:
“The fact that the medical expert panel is entirely removed from the rehabilitation process means that reporting remains objective, and puts a firewall in place to ensure clinical rigour and accuracy.”
The partnership marks a watershed for HCML which has posted its maiden annual profit in 2011/12, driven by a 20 per cent increase in fee revenue.
Bushnell said a focus on innovation and delivering value-based solutions has been behind the firm’s recent success:
“This company has always been focused around clinical rigour, but our recent attention has been on giving a great service to match that.
“To achieve this we’ve better aligned ourselves with our customers’ commercial objectives, invested in IT infrastructure and made greater use of our top-class advisory board.
“We’ve recruited 24 new case managers since March 2012 to service increased volumes of immediate medical assessment work (IMA) for musculoskeletal injuries and we predict further growth in 2013.”
“IMA volumes doubled to more than 19,000 cases in 2012 compared to 2011.”
