# Decide addendum, file review, or a new exam

> Say what is new, how old the examination is, and whether consent still holds. Get a path and a letter starter.

Source: https://imecore.com/tools/addendum-or-re-exam

This tool runs entirely in the browser. Nothing is uploaded and no account is needed.

## How to use it

1. **Say what is new.** A clarification, new records, a new question, or a change in condition.
2. **Enter the months since the examination.** Old findings do not answer a new condition.
3. **Say whether consent is current, and whether the person must be seen.** A new encounter needs current consent.
4. **Copy the instruction letter.** Send the path, the reasons, and the numbered instructions to the examiner.

## The wrong path is how you pay twice

Counsel asks for a quick addendum. The examiner has not seen the person in two years. The condition has changed. You send an addendum instruction anyway. The report comes back hedging, then you book the exam you should have booked first. A clarification of a written opinion is an addendum. New records without a new exam are a file review. A change in condition, or a person who must be seen, is a re-examination.

## Age of the examination is not a technicality

Findings go stale. An examination from a year and a half ago is a weak base for a new question about current work capacity. A clarification of what the original report already said can still be an addendum, even years later, because you are explaining text, not current function. If the months are high and the question is about now, book the exam.

## Consent does not travel forever

A file review of records can proceed on the original retainer. A new encounter cannot. If consent is not current and the path is a re-examination, stop and get new consent before you offer a date. Put that in the instruction letter so nobody books from memory. The starter does. Edit it for the file, then send it to the examiner.

## Questions people ask

### When is an addendum the right path?

When you need a clarification of an existing opinion, or a new question that can be answered from the original examination.

### When is a file review the right path?

When new records have arrived and the person does not need to be seen again.

### When is a re-examination the right path?

When the person must be seen, the condition has changed, or the examination is old and the question is about current function.

### Does this replace the examiner's judgment?

No. It is a coordinator's first cut. The examiner can still say a new exam is required.