The 3-Point Confirmation: How We Keep IME Appointments on Track
A missed independent medical examination (IME) is rarely a scheduling inconvenience. In a litigated claim, it can shape the outcome: compensability findings, disability ratings, and the strength of the medical-legal record can all turn on whether that appointment happened. A number of states treat attendance at these evaluations as a substantive part of the claims process, not an administrative formality. California is a clear example. An injured worker who misses a Qualified or Agreed Medical Evaluation, the state's terms for what is broadly known industry-wide as an IME, without good cause can face suspension of benefits until the appointment is rescheduled and completed. For adjusters and nurse case managers, a no-show is not simply a lost appointment. It is added exposure, extended claim duration, and a weaker position if the claim proceeds toward litigation.
The causes of a missed IME are rarely dramatic. An address that was never verified. An injured worker who was uncertain of the appointment time. A single confirmation call placed weeks in advance, with no follow-up before the exam date. These are small operational gaps, but in a process where attendance carries legal weight, small gaps produce outsized consequences. The interval between an IME being scheduled and an IME being attended is where preventable complications enter an otherwise well-managed claim, unless that interval is actively managed.
The 3-Point Confirmation
Intake. When an assignment is received, we verify the details most likely to cause a no-show if left unconfirmed: exam location, appointment time, mobility needs, and language requirements. This is also the first point of outreach to the injured worker, so expectations are set before they can become a point of failure.
Confirmation before the date. A dedicated follow-up ahead of the appointment, not a single call weeks out followed by silence. This is where changes surface, a moved address, a misunderstood time, a transportation adjustment, while there is still time to correct them.
Day-of check-in. A final confirmation on the morning of the appointment that the ride, and the interpreter if one is assigned, is on schedule and the injured worker is prepared to attend.
No individual step here is complex. What matters is that all three occur, for every assignment, rather than relying on a single point of contact and hoping it holds.
That discipline is what produces a completion rate above 99%, with no-show and late-cancellation rates in the single digits.
The process is also backed by a guarantee. If an injured worker misses an appointment because of something on our end, we cover the associated fees and the cost of rescheduling. That commitment reflects the confidence we have in a confirmation process treated as core infrastructure, not an add-on service.
Every checkpoint, intake, confirmation, and day-of check-in, is logged and timestamped as it occurs. That record becomes part of the file, available if attendance, timing, or process is ever challenged later in the life of a claim. In claims where the medical-legal record carries significant weight, that documentation is not a convenience. It is part of what protects the file.