AI in IME practices: questions and answers
Short version: the 12 questions IME practices raise most often about bringing in AI, each answered in a few sentences with a link to the page that goes deeper.
Limits: This site gives templates and a process, not legal advice. We read the rules it cites on 2026-11-12; your state, your requesters' contracts and your counsel decide what your practice must do.
Before you start
What is the first AI task an IME practice should take on?
Organizing the record file into a page-cited chronology. It is slow by hand and easy to check, because every line points to a page. Leave report drafting until the record step runs cleanly. See the 30-day plan.
Who in the practice should own AI adoption?
The owner physician owns the policy and the opinions; the office manager owns the approved tools list and the release gate. The staff workflow splits the rest.
Do we need a committee?
No. A small practice assigns each duty to a named role. The policy template is written that way.
What if staff already use chatbots?
List every tool in use, personal accounts included, on day 1. Anything not covered by a BAA stops receiving file content that day. Then block or ban personal chatbot use for file content in writing.
Examinees and reports
What do we tell the examinee?
Who requested the exam, that software organizes the records, that the physician forms every opinion, and how to ask questions or object. The notice page has 3 versions.
What if an examinee says no to AI?
Prepare that file without AI tools, flag the case so nobody uploads it later, and tell the requester if the date moves. Do not pressure the examinee.
What should the report say?
A short methods sentence: software organized the records, and the physician reviewed the records the opinions rely on. The disclosure page has 4 versions and words to avoid.
Can a record go on the records-reviewed list if I only read the AI summary of it?
No. List the records you read. The chronology helps you find what to read; it does not replace reading it.
Logs and checks
Isn't the vendor's log enough?
No. A vendor log shows uploads and sign-ins, not which facts the physician checked or what was corrected. Keep your own AI use log.
How long do we keep AI records?
Keep the policy, tools list and training records at least 6 years under 45 CFR 164.316(b)(2), and the case log as long as the case file, or longer if your state requires.
How do we know the tool is good enough?
Run closed files you already reported on, list every missed event, wrong date and wrong page, and make sure your checks catch each error type before any live file.
How do we know where we stand today?
Take the 10-minute self-assessment. It scores 6 areas and names the one to fix first.