Digital MER forms for insurance medicals

The medical examination report (MER) is the form an examiner fills during an insurance medical. It records the proposer's medical history, habits, family history and declarations, and the examiner's measurements and findings. The insurer's underwriter reads it next to the lab reports to decide the policy.

What an MER usually contains

• Identity: name, date of birth, a photo ID checked by the examiner, and often a photo of the proposer.
• Medical history: past illnesses, operations, hospital stays and current medicines, as yes/no questions with details.
• Habits: smoking, tobacco and alcohol, with quantities.
• Family history: parents' and siblings' health and ages.
• Examination: height, weight, BMI, blood pressure, pulse and the examiner's findings.
• Declarations and signatures from the proposer and the examiner, with date and place.

Each insurer has its own MER format, and many have more than one for different medical categories.

Why paper MERs come back

• A yes answer without the details the underwriter needs
• Unreadable handwriting, or figures that don't add up (a BMI that doesn't match height and weight)
• A missing signature, date or ID check
• The wrong format for the insurer or category

Every return costs a second visit or call and adds days to the turnaround.

What a digital MER should do

• Use the insurer's format, chosen automatically from the case.
• Refuse to submit incomplete forms: required answers, detail boxes that open on a yes, sensible ranges for vitals.
• Calculate values such as BMI so they can't be wrong.
• Capture signatures and photo ID on the phone, with time and place.
• Print as the insurer expects, so the underwriter sees a familiar form.

Digital MER in Prechq

In Prechq, MER forms are filled in the field app during the visit. Start from the library of common insurer formats or build your own, link each format to the client and category it belongs to, and set the checks each question needs. The completed MER, with signatures and ID photo, is attached to the case and delivered with the lab reports. Read more about running PPMC cases.