Frequently Asked Questions

What is Medical Experts Online if not an "agency"?
Do I really receive the full fee for my medico-legal work when I undertake direct instructions facilitated by Medical Experts Online?
If it doesn't take any commission how does Medical Experts Online receive any income?
Can I be on Medical Expert Online's database for free?
If I can be listed on Medical Experts Online's database for free, what is the benefit of paying for a subscription?
Why should I subscribe now,in the early stages after Medical Experts Online has been launched?
Can I upgrade my level of annual subscription during the course of the year?
Are my details secure, given that this is an online database?
What makes Medical Experts Online different from the traditional registers and directories?
Why do solicitors choose Medical Experts Online over other witness directories, registers and databases?
What can Medical Experts Online offer me?

What is Medical Experts Online if not an "agency"?

not

Do I really receive the full fee for my medico-legal work when I undertake direct instructions facilitated by Medical Experts Online?

MEOL expressly does not take any commission or make any mark-up on the fee notes produced by medical experts because its philosophy is that the full fee should go to the medical expert who has done the work in preparing the medical report.

If it doesn't take any commission how does Medical Experts Online receive any income?

MEOL's income is gained through a system of annual subscription. For a modest, tax-deductable, annual fee (which depending on the membership package is either equivalent to, or significantly less than, the average fee note for a single medico-legal report) subscription holders are provided with a whole raft of services and facilities, in the context of which the opportunity to promote their medico-legal services effectively, for the benefit of receiving new direct referrals from solicitors, is just one of the many bonuses. These unique services and facilities are all detailed on the payment pages of the website.

Can I be on Medical Expert On Line's database for free?

Yes. Every medical expert is entitled to a free long term entry on the Medical Experts Online database. There is unlikely to be any reason why every expert who undertakes medico-legal work should not, at the very least, wish to take advantage of this free service, given that for no cost they can have an entry on the central online hub for direct medico-legal referral in the UK, which lists them for named searches and enables online access by solicitors to their medico-legal profile.

If I can be listed on Medical Experts Online's database for free, what is the benefit of paying for a subscription?

The various subscription packages on offer each enhance the value of your MEOL database entry exponentially. At minimal cost a subscription makes each subscribing expert's individual profile much more readily searchable (for example searchable by location, by discipline, by search terms/areas of particular expertise or by a variety of other determinants) and entitles subscribers to avail themselves of a comprehensive array of features and services designed specifically to aid medical experts in their work and to help them to save both time and money. Please refer to the payment pages of the website for details of the wide ranging features and services included in the various subscription packages available.

Why should I subscribe now,in the early stages after Medical Experts Online has been launched?

The first several months after launch is a particularly opportune period for medical experts to subscribe to the Medical Experts Online database because, one of the first things solicitors do as they search our database for experts is earmark them for inclusion into their own in-house databases which they now operate through Medical Experts Online. Thus, the first several months after launch is an auspicious period when a great many solicitors will be looking for the details of experts not only for the purpose of arranging immediate instructions (in some cases) but importantly for the purpose of noting the existence of available experts for future use. Thus a payment subscription which enables the most effective search facilities, taken out by experts during the early stages after launch, capitalises on the best opportunities for securing future referrals.

Can I upgrade my level of annual subscription during the course of the year?

Yes. If you wish to upgrade your subscription you will be refunded all unused time on your current subscription, but you will have to pay a £25.00 administration charge in addition to the new subscription charge. It is not possible to downgrade or cancel your subscription.

Are my details secure, given that this is an online database?

Medical Experts Online does everything possible to ensure the security of all information stored on its database. Access to the website is restricted to registered users, who are medical experts, solicitors and insurance companies. Each individual user of the website needs to enter an individualised user name and password to gain access to the information stored on the database and to the various other facilities and features. Medical experts will not have access to each other's profiles. Medical expert subscribers will be provided with an electronic business card that will enable them to give any unregistered potential users whom they so wish (such as consulting room venues, insurers or solicitors who have not yet registered for the service) online access to their specific individual profile details. User access to the database is read-only i.e. no users other than the experts themselves have the facility to edit individual profile details on the website. All payment transactions are carried out on a secure basis using the facilities of Google Checkout and Paypal.

What makes Medical Experts Online different from the traditional registers and directories?

Being listed in a directory or register is simply just that….a listing.
With Medical Experts Online you control your listing live online using your username and password. With just one profile to maintain and to keep up to date you can point everyone else to your Medical Experts Online listing thus saving time and money on administration.

However we go one crucial step further and allow your profile to become part of the solicitors' own database of medical experts. We have simply provided solicitors throughout the UK with a single resource that enables them to search a database that includes their own list of medical experts as well as allowing them to open up their searches to the other experts listed.

Why do solicitors choose Medical Experts Online over other witness directories, registers and databases?

Because we specialise in the needs of Solicitors who require the many services offered by Medical Expert Witnesses only. After much consultation with instructing solicitors and insurance companies our programme has been designed with all their needs in mind.
Many solicitor firms have their own database or list of medical expert witnesses that they like to use. They commit resources to building up and maintaining this resource. With Medical Experts Online, as it is the experts who maintain their profiles, solicitors save time , money and resources not having to chase experts for CVs and other up to date details.
Solicitors often turn to directories etc when they haven’t got a suitable expert themselves on their own list. Now, for the first time they benefit from being able to search their own experts and thousands of others using a single resource.
Searches are enhanced using our highly developed, easy to use programme putting an end to the frustration of using multiple and inferior resources.

What can Medical Experts Online offer me?

Whether you are a novice or veteran medical expert, MEOL offers you, amongst other benefits, the opportunity to:

Earn the full fee for the valuable medico-legal reports which you produce.
Save money – your MEOL database entry makes other expert register/directory subscriptions unnecessary and reduces your administrative costs.
Store your frequently requested professional documents (CV; GMC certificate; professional indemnity certificate; example medico-legal reports etc.) in one secure online resource, such that they can be accessed immediately and easily by those that need them, negating the administrative burden associated with having to repeatedly copy and post such documents.
Receive pro-active assistance in penetrating the medico-legal sphere and promoting awareness of your services, in order to secure new sources of direct instruction.
Benefit from the unique and wide-ranging facilities and features included in the various subscription packages available, which have been designed specifically to aid medical experts in their work.
Share views, learn from others' experience and communicate directly with other medical experts via a dedicated medical experts' forum on the website.
Utilise, if desired, the e-mail messaging facility on the website to receive e-mail communication from solicitors, or if preferred continue to receive such communication via the traditional methods of post and telephone only.
Support an initiative which benefits both you and your peers by facilitating a revival of the traditional system of direct solicitor to medical expert referral, thereby promoting the independence and autonomy of the medical expert over the medico-legal agencies.

All for the cost of a modest tax-deductable annual subscription which is equivalent to, or less than, the average fee note for a single medico-legal report.