Are remote assessments here to stay?

On 21st July 2021 I co-hosted a panel webinar exploring whether remote assessments are going to continue following the COVID pandemic.

The panel comprised of Dr Peter Murphy, consultant neuropsychologist, Dr Jonathan Hellewell, consultant psychiatrist, Sophie Benko-Jones, case manager and Simon Murnane, care expert at Jacqueline Webb.   During the hour-long webinar, my colleague Daniel Matchett and I put questions to the panel about their experience of remote assessments over the last 15 months since the commencement of the pandemic.   

What is a Remote Assessment?

It was unusual before the start of the COVID pandemic for assessments to take place in any other setting other than face to face.   When the country first went into lockdown, assessments quickly moved to be done remotely, whether that was on Microsoft Teams, Zoom or even WhatsApp video call or Facetime.   

If remote assessments didn’t take place, a seriously injured claimant could find that their case could be significantly delayed.  As a solicitor running such cases my view was that remote assessments were key to ensure compliance with court timetables; that my injured clients were able to access to interim payments to allow them to undergo rehabilitation; and that we could continue to progress litigation even during difficult circumstances.

The Panel

The panel explored the advantages and disadvantages of remote assessments in great detail.  The panel was in agreement that there are some real advantages to remote assessments, for example a claimant might be more relaxed in their home environment and able to give their 'best' evidence.   A claimant doesn’t have to travel for a remote assessment, which reduces fatigue, anxiety and stress.   The panel all agreed that remote assessments in the right circumstances provided very valid and excellent results.

The Future

We explored with the panel whether remote assessments are here to stay when the pandemic is finally over. The answer was a resounding yes.   

There is however a caveat to this insofar as 'one size does not fit all' and remote assessments may miss certain subtleties of presentation, for example body language, a person's mobility, or their environment.  

The panel agreed that great care has to be taken to ensure that nobody else was in the room during the assessment and that the claimant could not be prompted or influenced from other external sources.

The panel's view was that the future may well see a hybrid approach, where remote assessments take place in some circumstances but not all.  

The view from our experts is therefore that remote assessments are going to be with us long term   We have evolved our approach considerably over the last 15 months but there is still some improvement to be made to the way that the remote assessments are done. 

I don’t however foresee a time when we will go back to excluding remote assessments entirely.  The saving of time and costs have been significant and the benefit to claimants in the right case are clear to see.  

However, I would add a note of caution that remote assessments may miss key information that would only be observed when meeting face to face. It is imperative in my view therefore that remote assessments identify not only what is seen, but also what may be missed. 

Find out more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in securing rehabilitation for people following accidents at our dedicated serious injury section. 

I don’t however foresee a time when we will go back to excluding remote assessments entirely. The saving of time and costs have been significant and the benefit to claimants in the right case are clear to see. ”