Medical reporting: MedCo opens first office
Medical reporting portal MedCo has begun employing its own staff for the first time after the Motor Insurer’s Bureau (MIB) stopped providing managed services.
From today, a number of MIB staff have transferred to MedCo at its new offices in Milton Keynes, while new accountancy, audit and HR providers have also been appointed.
MedCo said its primary aims in implementing these changes were to reduce annual costs and ensure future sustainability.
Despite the capital expenditure of offices and installing IT systems, Legal Futures understands that the MedCo board will shortly announce significant reductions in the annual registration fees for medical reporting organisations.
Since MedCo became operational in 2015, it was always intended that its operations and governance would be reviewed after five years. This review, by independent consultants, was completed in autumn 2020.
Among its recommendations were to appoint independent non-executive directors to the MedCo board with particular individual expertise in operations and finance, which has already been done – John Howells, the chief executive of cash machine network LINK, and accountant Ian Mackie
The review also recommended approaching the MIB with a view to negotiating a new contract. In the end, the MIB decided to stop providing its services from the end of this year.
The progress made in sourcing new arrangements means that the change has been made a month early.
It will not directly affect the MedCo portal or accreditation scheme, as these have never been operated by the MIB.
In a statement, the MedCo board said it “wishes to express its gratitude to the MIB and its staff for the excellent standard of services provided in the past”.
