QME record review vendor checklist

By Ahmed Jemaa, Co-Founder and CEO of Medrecords AI. Updated 2026-11-14.

Limits: Prices, turnaround and features come from each vendor's own website, read on 2026-11-12. We did not send any vendor a real file, so turnaround and quality are the vendors' claims. Nothing here is billing or legal advice.

Why a checklist for this purchase

Record review vendors sell the same words ("summary", "chronology", "review") for very different work, and 0 of the 12 services we checked publish a page rate. The questions below turn a sales call into answers you can compare. They come from 3 places: what the vendors' own pages leave unsaid, the disclosure a QME report needs under Labor Code 4628(b) (the name and qualifications of each person who performed non-clerical services), and the 30-day report clock in 8 CCR 38.

The 14 questions, as a checklist

Tick each item once you have the answer in writing. Your ticks stay in this browser tab only; nothing is sent or saved.

Privacy and people

• A BAA is signed before any record moves.No BAA, no file. Ask for it with the first quote, not after onboarding.
• The vendor names who reads the file and their training.You need names and qualifications to make the Labor Code 4628(b) disclosure for anyone doing more than clerical work.
• The vendor says where the file is processed and stored, by country.Offshore teams can be fine under a BAA. Find out before the file leaves, not after.
• The vendor says whether AI touches the file, and whether your records train any model.Several services on this site say they run AI first and staff second. Get the order and the training answer in writing.
• Retention and deletion are stated in days.How long after delivery the records and outputs are kept, and how you get written confirmation of deletion.

Price

• The price is per page, in writing, for your page bands.Per-case and hourly quotes can't be set against the $3.00 ML-PRR rate. Convert them or ask again.
• The vendor says whether duplicate and blank pages are billed.OctopusLM bills duplicates; Medrecords AI (ours) doesn't. On a file served by 2 parties, the gap can be large.
• Minimums, rush fees and redo fees are listed.A 40-page supplemental batch should not cost a 500-page minimum.

Output

• Every line of the outline cites the source page.You must review the excerpts and the entire outline. Page references make that a check instead of a re-read.
• The vendor gives a page count per sender and in total.Your count should match the parties' declarations. RapidCare's Level 1 lists counts per source; ask everyone else for the same.
• Unreadable pages are flagged, not skipped.Ask how the vendor marks a page it could not read. Silence on a faint fax is the worst outcome.
• Output arrives in a format you can edit.Word or a structured export, so your own review and changes go straight into your report.

Time

• Turnaround is stated in business days by page band.Your report is due 30 days after the evaluation. "Fast" is not a number.
• Supplemental batches have their own turnaround.Late records come in small batches. They should not wait behind a 5,000-page file.

0 of 14 settled.

Test on a closed file before a live one

1. Pick a closed QME file you have already served, with your declaration of records reviewed.
2. Send it to 2 vendors under signed BAAs, with the same instructions.
3. Compare each vendor's page count with your declaration.
4. Check 10 random lines of each outline against the cited page: date, provider, finding, and any negative ("denies", "no evidence of") kept as a negative.
5. Check the records from before the date of injury are there, in date order. Apportionment depends on them.
6. Time it from upload to delivery and compare with the turnaround promised.

Request to copy and send

Paste this into an email to each vendor on your shortlist. Fill in the brackets. It asks for every item on the checklist in 1 message, so replies line up side by side.

Subject: Record review quote for a California QME practice

Hello,

I am a California QME reviewing about [number] files a month, usually [number] to [number] pages each. Before I send any records, please reply in writing with:

1. Your price per page for files under 500, 500 to 2,000 and over 2,000 pages, and any minimum, rush or redo fees.
2. Whether duplicate and blank pages are billed.
3. Turnaround in business days from upload for each of those page bands, and for a supplemental batch under 100 pages.
4. Who reads the file: names or roles, training, and the country where the work is done.
5. Whether AI processes the file, in what order with your staff, and whether my records are used to train any model.
6. A sample output showing a page reference on every line and a page count per sender and in total.
7. How you mark pages you could not read.
8. Your BAA, for signature before any records are sent.
9. How long you keep records and outputs after delivery, and how you confirm deletion.

I plan to test 1 closed file first.

Thank you,
[Name], [credentials]
[Practice name and phone]

Copy the request

Red flags in a vendor's reply

• A price per case with no page band, or "it depends" with no range.
• No BAA until after you sign up.
• Sample output in paragraphs with no page numbers.
• No answer on who reads the file or where.
• Turnaround described as "fast", "quick" or "flexible".
• Any offer to write your opinions, causation or impairment rating. Those are yours.

Questions about vetting a vendor