Clinical negligence cases can involve large volumes of medical information and several different stages of work.
Medical records may need to be requested from multiple healthcare providers, securely hosted and organised before they can be reviewed effectively. As the case progresses, solicitors may also require a medical chronology or early clinical input to help understand the evidence.
Managing each of these stages through different providers can add another layer of administration to an already complex case.
Using one provider across multiple stages can help create a more connected process, with the records, services and information needed for the case brought together in one place.
Requesting medical records
The process often begins with obtaining the claimant’s medical records. A claimant may have records held by a GP, several NHS Trusts, private healthcare providers or other organisations. Each provider may have different processes and response times, and disclosures may arrive at different stages.
A medical records requesting service can manage this process on behalf of the solicitor, from submitting requests and tracking responses to following up where necessary.
If records are missing or a disclosure appears incomplete, further requests can also be managed as part of the same process.
Securely hosting case information
Once records have been received, they need somewhere secure and accessible to be stored. Medical records contain highly sensitive personal information, making security an important consideration when choosing a provider.
Having the records securely hosted on the same platform used to manage other services can also make them easier to access as the case progresses. Instead of repeatedly downloading, transferring and uploading documents between different providers, the information can remain within one environment.
At MedBrief, our platform is ISO 27001 certified and Cyber Essentials Plus certified, providing independently recognised standards for information security and cyber security.
Our platform is also fully auditable, providing greater visibility over how case information is managed.
Sorting and pagination
Medical records rarely arrive ready for legal review.
Disclosures can contain duplicate pages, different document types and records from multiple providers, sometimes covering many years of treatment.
Sorting and pagination brings structure to this information by organising the records into a logical order and creating consistent page references. This makes it easier for solicitors, clinicians and medical experts to navigate the same set of records and refer to specific information throughout the case.
When requesting, hosting and sorting are handled by the same provider, the records can move through these stages without the solicitor having to coordinate the transfer of information between separate services.
Preparing a medical chronology
Once the records have been organised, a medical chronology can help bring together the key events from across the claimant’s medical history.
Relevant information may be spread across different healthcare providers, documents and dates. A chronology presents this information in a clear timeline, helping the legal team understand what happened and when.
When the chronology is prepared as part of the same service, the team preparing it can work from the organised records already held within the case.
Getting early clinical input
Some cases may also benefit from clinical input at an early stage.
An Early Case Assessment (ECA) provides an initial clinical review of the medical records to help identify key clinical issues within a case. This can help solicitors better understand the medical evidence, identify areas that may require further investigation and make more informed decisions about how the claim should progress.
Again, when this is provided by the same provider managing the medical records, the clinical team can work directly from the information already held within the case.
Why use one provider?
Using one provider isn’t simply about having access to several services. The real benefit comes from connecting those services.
When different stages of a case are managed separately, solicitors may need to coordinate multiple providers, transfer the same documents between systems and keep track of work being completed in different places.
Bringing these services together can help:
– Reduce the admin involved in coordinating multiple providers
– Keep case information within one secure environment
– Make records and case information easier to access
– Create consistency between different stages of the process
– Reduce unnecessary movement of sensitive information
– Provide a clearer view of the work being completed on a case
The result is a more connected approach, from obtaining the medical records through to organising and reviewing the information they contain.
Supporting more of the case with MedBrief
At MedBrief, we bring medical record requesting, secure hosting, sorting and pagination, medical chronologies and Early Case Assessments together through one provider and one secure platform.
Our in-house team combines clinical and technical expertise, allowing different stages of the process to work together rather than being treated as completely separate services.
Our ISO 9001, ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications demonstrate our commitment to quality management, information security and cyber security, while our fully auditable platform provides greater visibility over how case information is managed.
For solicitors, this means fewer separate providers and systems to manage, while still having access to the services and expertise needed at different stages of a clinical negligence case.
By bringing more of the process together, we aim to make managing the medical side of a clinical negligence case simpler, more secure and more connected.