How to Choose an IME Provider: A Checklist for Employers, Carriers, and TPAs

The IME provider you choose shapes the quality of the medical evidence your claims decisions rest on. These are the questions worth asking before you send the first referral.

Ask about evaluator credentials, specialty match, and oversight. A network is only as strong as the individual clinician who sees your claimant. Look for named clinical leadership: someone identifiable who stands behind documentation standards, rather than an anonymous panel.

For psychological evaluations, the credential questions get specific. The evaluator should be a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, licensed in the jurisdiction of the exam, with training in forensic or medico-legal assessment, not just clinical treatment. Ask whether they administer standardized testing with embedded validity measures themselves, whether they are familiar with the applicable edition of the AMA Guides when an impairment rating is in play, and whether they maintain an active evaluation practice rather than doing occasional IMEs as a sideline.

Red flags are just as concrete. Be wary of an evaluator who cannot name the test battery they use or why, who reaches causation conclusions without addressing pre-existing history, whose sample reports state opinions without the reasoning behind them, who never administers validity testing, or whose reports read the same regardless of the referral questions. An evaluator who is defensive about these questions before the engagement will not hold up well under cross-examination after it.

Request a redacted sample report. Check whether it answers referral questions directly, shows the reasoning behind each conclusion, and reads clearly to a non-clinician. If the sample is vague, your reports will be too.

Ask how report requirements are confirmed, how status is communicated, and what happens when a case requires additional records or clarification.

Workers talk to their attorneys about how an exam felt. Evaluations conducted with dignity and clear communication produce better cooperation, fewer disputes about the exam itself, and findings that stand on firmer ground. Respectful treatment is not a courtesy; it is a quality control.

Ask how referrals are submitted, how status is communicated, and whether telehealth options exist for evaluation types that support them. A partner that fits your workflow saves adjuster hours on every file.

Empower welcomes this checklist, so here are our own answers. Licensed providers work under named clinical leadership, with in-person and telehealth options subject to service and jurisdiction requirements. Documentation standards are designed for medico-legal review.

Specialty depth is where Empower differs most from generalist panels. Our roots are in behavioral health, with RTW-focused therapy, cognitive rehabilitation therapy, psychological diagnostic and neuropsychological evaluations, IMEs, behavioral health work-capacity assessments, and permanent impairment evaluations available for authorized workers' compensation referrals.

Report requirements are confirmed during intake, and coordinators communicate when a case needs additional records or clarification. Referrals use a single intake path with status updates along the way.