Independent Medical Examinations (IME) and medical expert opinions in Vienna, Austria
For insurers, assistance companies, claims administrators, employers and law firms who need an independent, documented medical assessment of a claimant in Austria: examination and exercise testing in my Vienna practice, or a file-based expert opinion on the medical records. Reports in English or German, delivered as a signed PDF through a secure portal.
Specialist in internal medicine and occupational medicine · Habilitation (Medical University of Vienna) · Sworn and court-certified expert (occupational medicine) · 25+ years of expert assessments, including occupational diseases at the Medical University of Vienna
1. Scope of assessments
- Disability and work capacity: long-term disability (LTD/STD transition), income protection, invalidity and occupational disability claims, fitness for work and return-to-work questions, functional capacity in relation to the demands of the claimant's own or any occupation.
- Internal medicine: cardiovascular, pulmonary, metabolic and multimorbid conditions, chronic fatigue and post-COVID presentations, objective exercise capacity (clinical examination plus exercise ECG / ergometry).
- Occupational medicine: occupational disease causation, workplace exposure and job demand analysis, medical fitness assessments.
- Review of existing reports: methodological critique of treating-physician statements, insurer or state medical reports, consistency of findings, diagnosis and stated restrictions.
Psychiatric primary diagnoses are outside my specialty and are referred to a psychiatric examiner; I say so at the file-review stage rather than after instruction.
2. How an instruction works
- Instruction and file: send your referral letter with the questions to be answered, the claim file and medical records, the claimant's contact details, any deadline and, if you have one, your report template. Records are uploaded to a secure portal (EU servers, encrypted); please do not send health data by e-mail.
- File review and quote: within 2 business days you receive a fixed quote, the proposed examination date and a note on any missing documents.
- Examination in Vienna: the claimant attends my practice in Vienna (Monday or Wednesday). Identity is verified, the claimant's consent to the examination and to the release of the report is documented, and the claimant may bring an accompanying person. Interpreters are arranged by the instructing party if needed; the examination itself is conducted in German or English.
- Report: structured report addressing your questions, with the findings on which each conclusion rests, references to current guidelines where relevant, and an explicit statement of limitations. Delivered as a signed, encrypted PDF; a supplementary statement on follow-up questions is available.
No treating relationship arises from an IME. The report is addressed to the instructing party; the claimant is informed of that before the examination.
3. Fees and timelines
| Service | Timeline | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| File-based medical expert opinion (records review, no examination) | 10 business days after the file is complete | from EUR 1,690 |
| Independent medical examination in Vienna incl. exercise ECG, with report | examination date in the quote; report within 10 business days after the examination | from EUR 3,490 |
| Supplementary statement, answers to follow-up questions | by agreement | hourly rate, stated in the quote |
A fixed quote is issued for every case after the file review, usually within 2 business days. Fee schedule for framework agreements on request. Fees are final amounts; no VAT is charged (small-business exemption, § 6 (1) 27 Austrian VAT Act). Cancellation of an examination appointment is free of charge up to 48 hours in advance. Examinations take place exclusively in Vienna; I do not travel to the claimant.
4. Quality and method
Every report separates the documented findings from their interpretation, states which findings each conclusion relies on, and names what could not be established. The structure follows my published methodology dossier (Methodik & Aufbau, PDF, German). Sample structure and report language are provided on request.
5. Practice locations
Monday: Maschkangasse 2, 1210 Vienna (exercise ECG available)
Wednesday: Erdbergstraße 52-60/3/Top 15, 1030 Vienna
Both locations are reachable by public transport; details and directions are sent with the appointment confirmation.
6. Contact and instruction
Send a short e-mail with the type of claim, the questions to be answered, the claimant's location and your deadline. You will receive a reply within 24 hours on business days stating whether the case falls within my specialty, together with the secure upload link.
Telephone +43 720 349898 (practice, German and English) · Please do not send medical records by e-mail.
Private medical assessments are not covered by Austrian statutory health insurance. Austrian law applies. Legal notice: Impressum · Privacy policy (German). Our practice site for private clients in Austria: winker-gutachten.at (German).