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handl Excels…
Driving MLA forwards
Medical Legal Appointments (MLA) has built a reputation across the UK which stretched back over 20 years, but they wanted to do more than succeed. They wanted to excel.
The introduction of MedCo gave them the chance.
The Challenge
MedCo is the system and standard used to facilitate the sourcing of medical reports for personal injury claims. Medical suppliers sit in two tiers: Tier One is the large national providers, while Tier Two is typically smaller regional players.
Originally classified as a Tier Two provider, MLA decided to apply for Tier One status – with support from handl Group.
The solution
The pathway to move from MedCo tier to tier wasn’t made clear, especially as no company had previously successfully been reclassified.
Already used to meeting the highest standards as a member of handl Group, Mike and his team set out to demonstrate just how good MLA could be.
“We made the decision early on to not only meet the standards required by MedCo, but to exceed them. That’s a very ‘handl Group’ decision as members of the portfolio are used to meeting and exceeding standards. We doubled down on delivering service levels way beyond those demanded by Medco, building our expert networksand investing in technological solutions.”
Mike Shallcross – MD, MLA
Driven people and investment in technology. Or, to put it another way, People + Tech. The bedrock of excellence across the handl Group. And with this investment, came new services, markets and industry recognition.
“From the start, we encouraged MLA to prove that they were deserving of Tier One status. And then we helped them develop and launch a surveyor network to support a new category of expert witness reports. We also helped MLA become involved in industry awards, assisting with submissions and finding support from across our portfolio. As a result, MLA has won the Medico-Legal Provider of the Year award twice in three years, and been finalists for three other industry awards.”
Chris Chatterton – CCO, handl Group
The results
Despite there being no pathway to move up a tier, in 2019, MLA’s hard work was finally recognised as the company became reclassified as a Tier One MedCo provider. The goals set by Mike and his team had been reached:
Reclassification has delivered real benefits. Over 800 law firms and ABS insurers have used MLA for medical reports, and their customer base has been transformed.
And neither MLA nor handl Group are stopping there.
The poor standard of some rented accommodation is a national issue. MLA has developed a market leading solution for the provision of surveyor reports to support housing disrepair claims. and they’ve set themselves the target of becoming a market-leader in the provision of this service. With handl Group’s backing, they’ve already built a new supply chain and implemented new systems and processes to make it happen.
We’re confident they will. Because MLA, like every company in the handl Group portfolio, excels.
One of the first
companies
to be reclassified by
MedCo
The industry
benchmark
for MedCo
tier reclassification