One examiner, board-certified in both neurology and psychiatry, producing a single narrative report on impairment that crosses both fields.
Injuries from a fall, head strike, or motor vehicle accident rarely stay within one specialty. Headache, neuropathic pain, cognitive change, PTSD, and depression often appear together, yet they are often rated by separate examiners — a neurologist who attributes the remaining impairment to psychiatric causes, and a psychiatrist who attributes it to neurological ones.
Dr. Claunch has conducted IMEs since 2020. With dual board certification, he can identify, characterize, and rate impairment across both fields using the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment — for example, the Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS), Mental Status, Cognition, and Highest Integrative Function (MSCHIF), and Mental and Behavioral Disorders (MB&D) ratings — within one report. The narrative places the impairment in the context of its actual effect on daily functioning, including loss of autonomy, purpose, and productivity.
Long COVID, ME/CFS, and related post-infectious and post-vaccine neurocognitive syndromes are frequently at issue in disability, workers’ compensation, and similar claims, and they are poorly served by examiners unfamiliar with them. Where impairment from these conditions has to be quantified, Dr. Claunch can characterize and rate it with the same framework used in his clinical work.
IMEs and narrative reports are requested by an attorney, not by the patient — the decision about whether and when one is appropriate belongs to legal counsel.
Each evaluation includes a thorough review of available medical records, a coordinated history and examination, and a written narrative report. In-person examinations are conducted in Jacksonville, Florida; remote evaluations are available in any state where Dr. Claunch is licensed.
A records review, examination, and narrative report typically cost the requesting attorney about $1,800, covering up to 4 hours of dedicated time. In the rare case that more time is needed, it is billed at $125 per 15 minutes ($500/hr). The attorney typically pays upfront and is reimbursed following settlement.
For Dr. Claunch’s current patients, an attorney may request a narrative report at the same cost as an IME. As with an IME, it must be requested by the attorney.
IMEs and narrative reports are legal services, outside the scope of standard medical care. They are not billed to insurance, and an IME does not create a treating relationship.