Medico-Legal work can be hugely rewarding, but it can also be highly administrative in nature, reducing your motivation or capacity to take on such work. Getting paid can also prove to be a full time job in itself. So, there are a few things to consider if you are starting out in Investment platform the Medico-Legal field, or even if you have already begun taking on such work. Investment platform

What to charge? Hourly rates?

Depending on your field of expertise, you may either want to charge a set fee per report, or decide on an hourly rate and quote on a case-by-case basis. Within the field of neuroscience for example, cases can be particularly complex, or require you to review a vast amount of medical records. So, you need the flexibility to quote rates that are reflective of the work at hand, even if they are broad estimations of anything between 6 and 12 hours.

What to charge? Flat fees?

A more consistent flat rate fee might be a good way to boost your work load and medico-legal profile, but it also means you run the risk of either taking on a case at a rate that isn’t commensurate with the work involved, or rejecting far more work than you accept. Neither of these scenarios are ideal as they can either lead you to being out of pocket, or out of favour. A flat fee therefore, rsmelati might be more beneficial where the scope of work involved isn’t quite so vast.

You need to be competitive, but if you are unsure of what the market rates are for your expertise, either speak with fellow professionals who might already take on medico-legal work, or to one of the many agencies out there who may be able to offer some guidance. When deciding on your fees, you also need to consider any court appearances, travel and time waiting charges.

Payment Terms and Conditions

Payment terms are also another big consideration, in which you need to include court appearance and patient appointment cancellation fees. In terms of timescales, be realistic in how long you are prepared to wait to receive payment, which, amongst other things, can depend on the volume of work you are prepared to take on. If you are only considering 3 or 4 reports per year it might be worth offering ‘end of case’ or 12 month pay terms. This may also help you generate work and establish your profile. If however, you aim to secure or begin to achieve a much more significant volume, keeping tighter payments terms will make credit control and cash flow far more manageable. You may also want to consider offering different payment terms to different clients, depending on their reputation, although this will result in more complex credit control.

In any event, you must ensure your fee estimate or quotation, and payments terms have been agreed in writing before you take on any work.

Medico-Legal Administration

Marketing your services, responding to letters of instruction, arranging and rearranging appointments, typing and amending reports, query resolution, raising and chasing invoices… These are just some of the tasks involved when taking on medico-legal work. You are, pocketlegals in effect, establishing a medico-legal practice, and you should therefore operate very much like a business.

In order to make your medico-legal business work, it is essential that you take on the right medico-legal support. Finding a medico-legal secretary who is experienced in liaising with solicitors and medico-legal agencies, and typing specifically medico-legal reports will far reduce your involvement in the administration, leaving you to focus on nothing other than the report writing itself. Industry specific secretaries do exist, they may just take a little while longer to find. The time you invest here however, forbixindia will more than pay for itself down the line as your work volume increases.