Independent Medicial Examination Registry
Over the past few years, the National ME/FM Action Netork has been developing a national registry of the experiences of people with ME/CFS and/or FMS who have been requested by their insurance company or Canada Pension Plan (CPP) to undergo an Independent Medical Examination or Functional Abilities Evaluation.
The purpose of this registry is to identify the type of treatment ME/CFS and FMS patients receive by insurance companies and the doctors selected to perform these evaluations. It is our intention to compile the information received by province, area, insurance company, doctor, type of examination, and the results.
This information can be used in many way. We can present the statistics (without the people's names) to the College of Physicians and Surgeons to show them that education of the doctors is needed, as happen in Alberta. We can ask them to repremand doctors who appear to be making a career out of writing reports, which always result in legitimate cases being terminated by insurance companies. We can present the statistics to the media and ask for their assistance in making the public aware of this serious problem. We can approach the government with these statistics and ask for laws that will help protect sick people.
People can contact us and ask if we have any unfair reports about a doctor they have been request to see for an IME, and request names of doctors who are known to give fair reports. If need be, people can ask their insurance company to send them to one of the fair doctors on our list. With this kind of information, you, your doctor, and legal representative will be in position to advise the insurance company of possible inappropriate evaluation, thus having a better opportunity of a more impartial assessment.
If you have had a problem with your Independent Medical Evaluation arranged by your insurance company, we would like to hear from you!!! We strongly encourage you take the time to complete the questionnaire. The information will benefit all of us and is something we can easily do.
The top part of the questionnaire that contains the personal information will be cut off when we receive it and put into a confidential file. The name is only to verify that these are in fact real people and not fictional cases. The names of people will be held in strictest confidence. If you are still nervous about submitting your name, don't fill in that section. After all, the names of the insurance companies and the doctors and the details are the most important information.
The bottom part of the questionnaire, which only contains a file number, is what we will use if we approach the media or the College of Physicians and Surgeons etc. We will be able to contact the people at a later date and let them know how these statistics have been used and what results have been achieved.
Please note: due to our limited budget if you are calling long distance and leaving a message, your call will be returned collect.
Contact: Lydia Neilson
Phone:(613) 829-6667
E-mail: ag922@freenet.carleton.ca
3836 Carling Ave., Nepean, ON K2K 2Y6, Canada