How to Choose an IME Provider: A Checklist for Employers, Carriers, and TPAs
By the Empower Clinical Team
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.
1. Who actually performs the evaluations?
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.
2. What do the reports look like?
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.
3. How predictable is turnaround?
An excellent report that arrives after the decision deadline is a wasted spend. Ask for typical scheduling lead times and report delivery timelines, and how the provider communicates when a case needs more time. Predictability is worth as much as raw speed.
4. How is the claimant treated?
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.
5. Can the provider flex with your volume?
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 these questions. Our answers, from named clinical leadership to documentation built for medico-legal review, are the reason employers, carriers, and TPAs refer to us.
