Preparing for a DME/IME

A Defense Medical Exam (DME) or Independent Medical Exam (IME) is an evaluation conducted by a physician retained by the opposing side, used to assess the extent of an injury, dispute causation, or challenge a treatment plan. How that exam is coordinated and documented can meaningfully affect the outcome.

An IME examiner typically spends a fraction of the time with a patient that a treating provider does, working from a limited record and a single visit. Making sure that examiner has the complete, correctly organized medical history — and that the exam itself is properly documented — closes the gap between a rushed opinion and an accurate one.

I schedule the exam, confirm the examiner's credentials and scope, and compile the relevant medical records into a package the examiner can actually use — not a raw file dump, but the records that matter to the specific injury and claims at issue.

Depending on the case, that can include arranging for an observer, documenting exactly what occurred during the exam, and reviewing the resulting report against the actual record for accuracy — flagging any findings that don't line up with documented history or the exam that was actually performed.

The goal throughout is the same: complete, compliant documentation, so the exam holds up to scrutiny regardless of which side benefits from its conclusions.