Record review firms physicians use for case prep
Short version: most of the 15 case prep firms we list sell to law firms, not to physicians. For orthopedic and spine prep before an exam, NaviCase is the 1 built around the examining physician. For a physician's written opinion on records, Merit Evals states board-certified reviewers and 2 to 4 weeks. For high-volume summaries, LevelShift, LezDo TechMed and MOS keep a fully manual tier next to AI-assisted ones.
Limits: Firm facts come from each firm's own website, read 2026-11-12; we haven't hired these firms or graded their reports, and "not stated" means we didn't find it, not that the firm doesn't do it.
Who buys case prep, and what they get
Physicians who review records for a living (IME examiners, expert witnesses, physician reviewers for payers) spend much of a case reading before they form an opinion. Prep firms take part of that reading off the desk. They deliver 1 of 3 things:
| Deliverable | Who usually writes it | Firms that offer it |
|---|---|---|
| Chronology or summary of the records | Nurse, LNC, NP, PA, or reviewer with AI | NaviCase, BMC Group, LevelShift, LezDo TechMed, MOS, MLCS, Magna, U.S. Legal Support, Trivent, LMTG, Vitality BSS, CAMG |
| Physician review or opinion on the records | Board-certified physician | Merit Evals, Expert Institute, Expedient Medicolegal, NaviCase (surgeon tier) |
| Missing records list and record gaps | Nurse or LNC | MLCS |
From each firm's own service page, captured 2026-11-12. Sources are in the table below.
The 15 case prep firms
| Firm | Specialty scope | What it says about reviewers | Turnaround stated | Worth knowing | Source, captured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMC Group | Not stated | Experienced LNCs plus physician and nurse reviewers | Not stated | Chronologies and medical summaries on a cloud platform. | bmcgroup.com/solutions/medical-records, 2026-11-12 |
| CAMG | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Record review as part of a legal marketing and case group. | camginc.com/services/divisions/medical-record-review, 2026-11-12 |
| Expedient Medicolegal | Not stated | Physician oversight of summaries | Not stated | Supports a designated expert with record review and deposition questions. | expedientmedicolegal.com/services/medical-record-review, 2026-11-12 |
| Expert Institute | 35+ specialties for certificates of merit | Board-certified physicians whose background fits the case | Certificate of merit in 2 to 3 days | Mainly sells to attorneys; listed for physicians who receive its reviews. | expertinstitute.com/services/medical-record-review, 2026-11-12 |
| LevelShift | Not stated | Human experts validate every output | 24 hours in 1 case example | 3 models: fully manual, AI plus human, and QC of AI output. | levelshift.com/services/business-process-services/medical-record-review-services, 2026-11-12 |
| LezDo TechMed | Not stated | Human review by a certified medico-legal professional in its manual tier | 48 hours standard | Human, AI or hybrid tiers; founded 2013. | lezdotechmed.com, 2026-11-12 |
| LMTG | Not stated | MD verification stated | Not stated | Summaries and chronologies with hyperlinked indexes. | lmtglocal.com/medical-record-review-services, 2026-11-12 |
| Magna Legal Services (nurse review) | Not stated | Licensed nurses with LNC credentials | Not stated for review | Mostly a record retrieval firm; nurse review is an add-on. | magnals.com/outsourcing-medical-record-review, 2026-11-12 |
| Merit Evals | Specialty that fits the case | Board-certified physicians | 2 to 4 weeks in most cases; expedited on request | Physician record review with a written opinion. | meritevals.com/medical-record-reviews, 2026-11-12 |
| MLCS | Not stated | Legal nurse consultants | Not stated | Chronologies, missing-records lists and phone consults. | mlcsinc.com/medical-records-review-services, 2026-11-12 |
| MOS Medical Record Review (ReviewGenX) | Not stated | Human-in-the-loop review of every output | Flexible options, not published | Manual, AI and hybrid models; in business since 2002. | mosmedicalrecordreview.com, mosmedicalrecordreview.com/medical-record-review-outsourcing, 2026-11-12 |
| NaviCase | Orthopedics and spine | Clinicians in active practice in North America; directed by a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon | Committed against your exam date | Clinician-written chronological summary; an optional tier adds a surgeon's opinion. | navicasemed.com, 2026-11-12 |
| Trivent Legal | Matched to the record | Not stated | Not stated | Case maps with hotlinked facts. | triventlegal.com/medical-record-review-services, 2026-11-12 |
| U.S. Legal Support | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Record summaries delivered in a client portal. | uslegalsupport.com/medical-record-summaries, 2026-11-12 |
| Vitality BSS | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Outsourced review with deliverables set per client. | vitalitybss.com/medical-records-review, 2026-11-12 |
3 things to check when the buyer is a physician, not a law firm
Format. Prep firms built for attorneys organize records around liability and damages: injury, treatment, bills. A physician preparing an exam or a standard-of-care opinion needs the clinical sequence: presenting problem, workup, diagnosis, treatment, response, with dates and source pages. Ask for a sample in clinical format before the first case.
Who wrote it. 5 of the 15 say AI does part of the work (LevelShift, LezDo TechMed, MOS, U.S. Legal Support, LMTG). That isn't a problem if a clinician checks every line against the record, but you need to know which tier you bought. The summary you rely on in a report is your responsibility, whoever drafted it.
Your date, not theirs. NaviCase sets its turnaround against your exam date, which is the right frame for an examining physician. Most other prep firms publish no number at all; LezDo TechMed states 48 hours standard.
Firm, software or both
A prep firm makes sense when you see a few cases a month, the files are short, and you'd rather pay per case than learn a tool. It makes less sense when files run to thousands of pages, when you need the summary in a specific format every time, or when your clients don't want records leaving your control. In that case, consider keeping the reading in-house with software and checking the output yourself.
If you want a clinician to do the reading for you, software doesn't replace that. Stay with a firm.
Questions physicians ask about prep firms
Which record review firms work for IME physicians?
NaviCase is built around the examining physician, for orthopedic and spine cases, with turnaround set against the exam date. LevelShift and LezDo TechMed name IMEs and QMEs among their buyers. Most others sell to law firms.
Do prep firms use AI?
5 of the 15 we list say so: LevelShift, LezDo TechMed, MOS, U.S. Legal Support and LMTG. LevelShift, LezDo TechMed and MOS also offer a fully manual tier.
Can a prep firm write my report?
A prep firm can summarize the records or supply a separate physician's opinion. Your own report, its opinions and your signature stay with you.