Assessment services
Independent Medical Examination
An independent physician examines the person, reviews the records, and answers the referral's questions in a signed report. Insurers, employers, and law firms order one when the treatment notes alone cannot settle diagnosis, causation, or work capacity.
The problem
The opinion arrives late and answers the wrong question
The referral names the injury, the questions, and the date the answer is due. The chart sits in one place, the questions in another, and the booking in a third. What comes back describes the treatment and skips the causation question counsel actually asked.
- The examiner gets the referral without the imaging it references.
- Causation, diagnosis, and capacity blur into one paragraph.
- Nobody can see the report date until the report is already late.
What changes
What IMECore does about it
Every question on the referral, tracked
Causation, diagnosis, prognosis, and capacity stay separate questions on the case. The report template will not release with one unanswered.
Records complete before the booking
Treating notes, imaging, and prior files attach with source and date. IMECore flags the gap before the appointment is confirmed, not after.
The opinion stays the examiner's
IMECore runs intake, records, scheduling, and review. The physician writes and signs the medical opinion, and a reviewer checks each question has an answer.
Where the time goes
Numbers worth knowing before you buy
Published figures from fee schedules and industry surveys. Each carries its source.
- Typical wait to book a BC specialist IME
- 2–6 monthsTypical wait to book a BC specialist IMElawyerinfo.ca, BC WCAT guide
- Typical wait for the report after the exam in BC
- 4–8 weeksTypical wait for the report after the exam in BClawyerinfo.ca, BC WCAT guide
- Average examiner time per IME across review, exam, and report
- ~6.5 hoursAverage examiner time per IME across review, exam, and reportSEAK 2024 IME fee survey
Free tools
Try the calculation first
No account, no upload. These run in your browser.
- Free tool
IME cost estimator
Estimate the fee range for an independent medical examination by province, specialty, and report type. Built from published fee guides.
Read - Free tool
IME referral intake checklist
Pick the claim type, province, and who is asking. Tick what you have. Copy what is still missing.
Read - Free tool
IME report QA scorecard
Check five domains, mark each item as pass, partial, or fail, and get a red, amber, or green verdict.
Read
FAQ
Questions people ask
What is an Independent Medical Examination?
An assessment where a physician with no treatment role examines the person, reviews the file, and answers specific medico-legal questions in a signed report. It is ordered by an insurer, employer, or law firm, never by the treating doctor.
What should an examinee expect?
Questions about history and current function, a physical examination, and a review of the records. No treatment is given at the appointment, and the examiner does not become their doctor.
Who signs the report?
The examining physician. IMECore coordinates the file — intake, records, scheduling, review, and billing — and never writes the medical opinion.
Can an IME run by video?
Often, when the referral questions can be answered from history, records review, and observation over video, and the specialty needs no hands-on examination. IMECore confirms the format on the referral before booking.
Keep reading
Related pages
- For teams
Insurers and adjusters
We deliver Independent Medical Examinations, Functional Capacity Evaluations, and Medical File Reviews for ICBC Part 7, Ontario SABS, Section B, LTD, and life and health files. A named reviewer signs off every report before it reaches your desk.
Read - For teams
Law firms
We arrange Independent Medical Examinations, Medical File Reviews, and rebuttal opinions for plaintiff and defence files. Examiners attend to speak to their reports where the file needs it, and a named reviewer signs off every report before release.
Read - Claim type
Long-term disability
We coordinate the examination and deliver a report that tests job demands, duration, and restrictions, so the file can move.
Read - Specialty
Orthopaedic Surgery
A surgeon answers what the injury is, what caused it, and what function remains. IMECore keeps the referral questions and the imaging on the same file.
Read - Service
Virtual assessment
Which independent medical examinations can run by video, what the examinee needs, and how consent and recording work.
Read
Refer a case, get back a signed report
Send the referral and the questions. A coordinator confirms the file and what it still needs, then IMECore coordinates the examination and delivers a signed report.