I joined California Medical Evaluators at the recommendation of a friend. For me, the choice was clear. I’m new to QME work and starting this type of work with a team to facilitate the workflow makes a lot of sense. I see and evaluate the patient, review the record and formulate my opinion, and a lot of the paperwork and logistics are completed for me. I don’t have to pay my own office staff to manage the mountains of paperwork (it would require hiring an extra staff member).
CME guided me through the exam with a very thorough review course. I felt confident with the exam and was the first one in the whole room to complete it (by a long shot, I’m told). I owe this to the preparation I received through CME. Because the exams are only offered twice a year, I wanted to be sure to pass the first time. They also guided me through the practice report, and connected me with their other providers who were able to talk me through the writing of that first report.
Once I got started doing evaluations, the streamline became very clear. I’m able to see patients efficiently and get my reports done quickly.
There are so many departments and employees that I was at first overwhelmed; there are so many aspects to a good report that CME must have multiple departments. Over the past few months though, I’ve gotten to know the key players through email, phone calls, and visiting the office, and really appreciate the quality of the team members. They do reach out to me to make sure that high quality reports are facilitated at each step. Of special note, Gabor Vari, the founder and CEO, is very knowledgeable and approachable. My understanding is that he’s involved behind the scenes in some of these complex cases. Mark Shabason is the Vice President of Operations, and is very accessible as well to help answer questions and fix any issues along the way. Loan Do is the ICE supervisor and ensures high quality and timely summaries of the record for my review. Both my liaison and my Quality Assurance reviewer are an integral part of the team and incredibly helpful. That is to say, whenever I’ve had questions or issues as I learn to write quality reports, there is a team of experts that is able to help me through the complexities.
The additional exposure of being with a group has also given me opportunities to be an Independent Medical Examiner much sooner than I would have anticipated. CME really helped to jumpstart my career with these types of exams.
While this is very helpful for new physicians or physicians new to QME, I watch my partners trying to do similar work without the assistance of a company like CME. Their staff is overburdened and they spend a considerable amount of time on logistics, so they are only able to see a small number of cases each month. I’ve recommended to them that they get on board, as it can really alleviate a lot of the stress and hassle, and allow them time and opportunity to do more of the evaluations.
Overall, I’ve had an excellent experience with CME, and look forward to continuing to grow with them.