Medico-Legal work can be very rewarding, but it is also highly administrative anyway, lowering your motivation or capacity to defend myself against such work. Getting compensated may also end up being a time consuming task by itself. So, there’s a couple of points to consider if you’re beginning in the Medico-Legal field, or even though you have previously begun dealing with such work.
Things to charge? Hourly rates?
Based on your expertise, you can wish to charge a collection fee per report, or choose per hour rate and quote on the situation-by-situation basis. Within the concept of neuroscience for instance, cases could be particularly complex, or need you to review an enormous quantity of medical records. So, you’ll need the versatility to quote rates which are reflective from the work on hands, even if they’re broad estimations of anything between 6 and 12 hrs.
Things to charge? Flat charges?
A far more consistent predetermined fee fee may be a great way to improve your work and medico-legal profile, it means that you risk either dealing with a situation for a price that is not corresponding to the job involved, or rejecting much more work than you accept. Neither of those scenarios are perfect as they possibly can either make you being up front, or from favour. A set amount therefore, is much more advantageous in which the scope of labor involved is not quite as vast.
You have to be competitive, however if you simply are unclear about exactly what the market minute rates are for the expertise, either consult with fellow experts who might already undertake medico-legal work, in order to one of the numerous agencies available who might be able to offer some guidance. When choosing your charges, you should also consider any court appearances, travel and time waiting charges.
Payment Conditions and terms
Payment terms will also be another big consideration, that you have to include court appearance and patient appointment cancellation charges. When it comes to timescales, be sensible in how lengthy you’re to hold back to get payment, which, among other activities, depends on the level of work you’re to defend myself against. If you’re only thinking about three or four reports each year it may be worth offering ‘end of case’ or one year pay terms. It can possibly assist you to generate work and establish your profile. You can definitely, you try to secure or start to achieve an infinitely more significant volume, keeping tighter payments terms can make credit control and funds flow much more manageable. You may even be thinking about offering different payment terms to various clients, based on their status, even though this can lead to more complicated credit control.
The point is, you have to be sure that your fee estimate or quotation, and payments terms happen to be agreed on paper prior to taking on any work.
Medico-Legal Administration
Marketing the services you provide, answering letters of instruction, organizing and rearranging appointments, typing and amending reports, query resolution, raising and chasing invoices… These a few of the duties involved when dealing with medico-legal work. You’re, essentially, creating a medico-legal practice, and you ought to therefore operate just like a company.
To make your medico-legal business work, it is necessary that you are taking around the right medico-legal support. Locating a medico-legal secretary who’s experienced in liaising with solicitors and medico-legal agencies, and typing particularly medico-legal reports will far lower your participation within the administration, departing you to pay attention to nothing apart from the report writing itself. Industry specific secretaries are available, they might just take some while longer to locate. Time you invest here however, will greater than purchase itself lower the road as the work volume increases.
