Medical Director News

"Greetings!.

As MES Solutions Medical Director, is my pleasure to welcome you to our web site.

More than anything, my overarching responsibility is to help ensure that MES' independent physician consultants produce a report that is thorough, independent and without bias.

Furthermore, the report should answer each question with reasoned medical opinions that are supported by the clinical data and referenced whenever possible. It goes without saying that each IME examinee should be treated with dignity and respect.

We plan to utilize this web site to provide scientific information and links on topics of common interest. Examples of clinical topics may include the following:

what constitutes a well-done IME?

Again welcome and I would appreciate any feedback and your suggestions on potential topics.

Sincerely,

Mark A. Doyne, MD

Medical Director, MES Solutions

mark.doyne@mesgroup.com

AADEP: a Wonderful Experience

Okay, you ask, "What's an AADEP?" AADEP is the American Academy of Disability Evaluating Physicians. It's a professional organization whose mission is to advance the medical science of the evaluation and management of impairment and disability. For anyone who really wants to learn how to perform impairment ratings, independent medical evaluations (IME's), peer reviews, or become an expert witness it's the place to be. AADEP is also very involved in advancing evidence-base medicine. I am an AADEP member and Fellow, and also serve on the board of directors. Our Nineteenth Annual Scientific Session was recently held in Tucson, AZ November 9-12, 2005. I had the pleasure of moderating the MES Business Forum at the meeting and wanted to share my experience.

The inaugural MES Business Forum was held on Friday afternoon. The goal of the Forum is to foster and enhance communication between external stakeholders such as insurance carriers, employers, and administrative agencies and the AADEP membership. Our guest speaker at the forum was Adam Seidner, MD, MPH, National Medical Director for St. PaulTravelers. In planning our joint presentation, I asked Dr. Seidner what he would like to talk about if he could get in front of the AADEP membership. Without hesitation, he answered "Independent Medical Evaluations." I asked him "why IME's?" and he answered as follows: "AADEP members need to understand the power and impact of a well done IME. And secondly, you need to realize how many, shall we say, less than ideal IME's we receive."

Accordingly, we developed a joint presentation highlighting the power and impact of the IME, and had a little fun along the way. I am an orthopedic surgeon and perform numerous IME's. Dr. Seidner referred to me a most difficult claimant with his fourth work related back injury for an IME, with specific questions to be answered.I intentionally performed a pretty inadequate IME and did a half baked job of answering his questions. On stage, we donned cowboy hats, I wore the black one and Dr. Seidner wore the white one. We than sparred on all aspects of the IME. In closing, Dr. Seidner's drive home points were the 10 most frequent IME mistakes he sees from an insurance carrier's perspective. The presentation was fun and well received. More importantly, it provided AADEP with great feedback and information from a key external stakeholder, the insurance carrier. I want to thank Dr. Seidner taking time from his busy schedule to present to AADEP at the MES Business Forum. His message was truly enlightening.

AADEP is a wonderful organization, but it's not only for MD's and DO's. There is an Associate Membership category that includes chiropractors, psychologists, case managers, physical and occupational therapists, allied health professionals, nurses and other legal and administrative professionals. If you have not been involved with AADEP, I urge you to join us. Contact information is as follows 800.456.6095 or www.aadep.com .

So until we speak again, I wish to all a happy and healthy holiday season.

Mark