IME assessments: how they run and how to prepare one
An hour with the claimant, prepared by the file you send. Here's how to make that hour count.
An IME assessment is the examination itself: the independent doctor reviews the referral material, examines the claimant, and reports against the questions asked. It typically runs under an hour — which is exactly why the referral material, especially the medication history, does most of the work.
Key Takeaways
- The sequence: referral and material → examination → report against the questions asked
- It’s short: typically 45–60 minutes with the claimant — the file does the heavy lifting
- Worker protections apply: scheme rules cover notice, conduct, support persons and report access — check the regulator’s guidelines
- Medication reality check: an examiner can only assess the regimen shown to them; interview recall is unreliable for multi-prescriber regimens
- Read the report against the file: a report contradicting the dispense history isn’t final — it may simply have been briefed on less
The assessment, start to finish
- Referral: the insurer's letter with questions and attachments — the examination's terms of reference
- Pre-reading: the examiner reviews what was sent; what wasn't sent doesn't exist for them
- Examination: history-taking and targeted physical/psychological assessment, usually 45–60 minutes
- Report: findings and opinions structured against the referral questions — see medico-legal reports
Why medication questions fail in the room
History-taking relies on recall, and multi-prescriber medication regimens defeat recall reliably — patients under-report sedatives, forget the second prescriber, and round doses to what they think they take. An examiner without the dispense history is assessing the remembered regimen. On medicated claims that gap is the difference between a report that says "regimen appears appropriate" and one that addresses the actual sedative load. Attach the reconciled history; ask the capacity question against it explicitly.
See what a complete medication picture looks like on a claim
Allmeds prepares the part of the IME that decides its value: the reconciled medication history and the specific questions, drafted into the referral.
Related pages
Important: This page is general health information, not personal medical advice. If you have questions about your medication — including starting it, stopping it, changing the dose, or combining it with something else — speak with your doctor or pharmacist. For an emergency or suspected overdose, call your local emergency number or poison information service immediately. Information is drawn from regulator and clinical guideline sources (TGA, FDA, MHRA, NICE, PBS, CDC); see our methodology for details.