SCM purchases independent medical assessment division of Medisys

SCM Insurance Services has purchased the independent medical assessment division of Medisys, SCM’s second acquisition of an independent medical examiner (IME) in 30 days.
Medisys is a national provider of preventive health programs, independent medical assessments, travel health and medical imaging services, as well as health-related underwriting services for insurance companies.
SCM announced its acquisition of another IME, Riverfront Medical Services, in November 2011.
Asked about the acquisitions, Corey Smith, SCM’s chief marketing and sales officer, said SCM is continuously looking to add to its insurance, risk and corporate services portfolio. He noted SCM has already developed the claims adjusting, property appraisal and inspection, and forensic investigation sides of the business.
SCM sees the medical evaluation field as something different than other services offered by the firm, and also essential to clients, Smith went on to note. Thus, SCM acquired the two IMEs within the last month.
“We did assess the market in Canada as being somewhat fragmented, and by bringing two strong (IME) companies together, we were able to enhance quality, introduce advanced technology, expand geographic coverage and offer a single source to a broader availability of medical expertise, while offering data analytic potential to our customers,” Smith said.
Ultimately the long-term plan is to bring Riverfront and Medisys together to form one single unit. However, this will not occur until after consultation with stakeholders and clients to determine the best course of action for this merger.
Until that time, Riverfront and Medisys will continue to operate as two separate entities.
“We did not enter this business to try and increase workflow through our claims handling business,” Smith said. “The IME side is a distinct and separate entity from our claims handling business.”
Smith said claims adjusters typically do not have the discretion to choose the medical assessment firm, since the medical needs and medical work is tightly controlled by the insurance companies.
“Adjusters are directed by their customer [insurance company] as to which IME to use, typically, whether it is chosen off a rotating list or tasked by the insurer,” he said. “This immediately eliminates any conflict of interest.
“Using our claims handling business to filter work over to the IME side of our business is not even on the table. We will put the appropriate governance principles in place to demonstrate the separation of these businesses to our customers.”