For what a medical chronology is, see our explainer on AI medical chronologies. For the step-by-step process of building one, see How to Create a Medical Chronology.
A Medical Chronology Template You Can Copy
| Column | What goes in it | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Date of service, or first and last date for a grouped series | MM/DD/YYYY, stored as a date so it sorts |
| Type of visit | ED visit, office visit, PT, imaging, IME, pharmacy | Same label for the same kind of visit |
| Provider | Facility, provider, and credential | Copy from the record header |
| Record excerpt | Complaints, findings, denials, diagnoses, plan, work status | Quote the key lines; condense routine visits |
| Source | File name and page, or Bates number | Required on every row |
| Tags | PRIOR, GAP, CONFLICT, DUPLICATE, MISSING | Use as many as apply |
| Reviewer notes | The reviewer's own observations | Keep them out of the excerpt |
Add billed and paid amounts when the chronology supports a damages claim, and an ICD-10 column when the attorney wants to filter by diagnosis.
Quote anything the other side could dispute word for word: denials such as "denies radiating pain," the first mention of a symptom, work restrictions, and diagnoses. Routine visits, such as a run of physical therapy notes that repeat each other, can be condensed into one row with a date range and a visit count.
If the records are not Bates-stamped yet, cite the file name and PDF page (for example, 04_Eastside_FamilyPractice_2025-02-10.pdf p.2) and add the Bates number once the production is stamped.
Download the medical chronology template (.xlsx). The spreadsheet splits the record excerpt into the fields Superinsight uses in its chronology reports (history, exam, imaging, diagnoses, plan, and medications), offers the tags as a drop-down list, and counts the days since the previous visit so gaps stand out. A second sheet holds the filled-in example from this page. No form or email address is required.
The Illustrative Case
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Claimant | Teresa Vance, 47, route driver for a parcel carrier |
| Incident | On 01/22/2025 she slipped on icy steps outside an office building while delivering packages and landed on her lower back |
| Claims | Workers' compensation through her employer, premises liability against the building owner, and a Social Security disability application with an alleged onset date of 01/22/2025 |
| Records | 10 providers and a pharmacy, Bates-stamped VANCE-000001 to VANCE-000114, plus billing records |
Illustrative example. All names, records, dates, amounts, and page numbers on this page are fictional.
A Filled-In Example
| Date · visit | Provider | Record excerpt | Source · tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| 04/11/2023 – 05/16/2023 · Chiropractic, 6 visits | Lakeside Chiropractic | "Low back pain x 5 days after moving a dresser at home." Discharge: "Pain 0/10. Full lumbar ROM." | VANCE-000001–000009 · PRIOR |
| 01/22/2025 · ED visit | St. Brendan Medical Center | "Slipped on icy steps while delivering packages... Denies head strike, loss of consciousness, radiating pain, numbness, or weakness." X-ray: "No acute fracture." | VANCE-000010–000016 |
| 01/27/2025 · Occupational medicine | Northgate Occupational Health | "Reported injury to supervisor by phone on 01/22/2025." "Modified duty. No lifting over 10 lb." | VANCE-000017–000020 |
| 02/10/2025 · PCP visit | Eastside Family Practice, S. Nair, MD | "Pain now radiates down the left leg to the top of the foot... Denies prior back problems." "SLR positive on the left." | VANCE-000021–000024 · CONFLICT |
| 02/18/2025 · MRI lumbar spine | Tri-County Imaging | "Left paracentral disc extrusion at L4–L5 contacting the traversing left L5 nerve root." | VANCE-000025–000026 |
| 02/24/2025 – 04/28/2025 · PT, 18 visits | Riverside Physical Therapy | "Oswestry 48%" at evaluation, "Oswestry 34%" at last visit. "Continue 2x/week pending authorization." | VANCE-000027–000071 · MISSING |
| 04/28/2025 – 06/13/2025 · No encounter records | none | 46 days. Further PT was pending authorization. A gabapentin refill ordered by Dr. Nair on 05/19/2025 points to a PCP contact not yet produced. | GAP · MISSING |
| 06/13/2025 – 08/05/2025 · Pain management, 3 visits | Summit Spine & Pain | "Left L5 radicular pain 7/10 despite 18 PT visits." Left L5–S1 epidural injection 07/08. "About 50% relief... for two weeks." | VANCE-000072–000081 |
| 08/19/2025 · Spine surgery consult | Harborview Orthopedic Spine | "Candidate for left L4–L5 microdiscectomy. Not able to return to commercial driving at this time." "Patient wishes to defer surgery at this time." | VANCE-000082–000083 |
| 09/16/2025 · IME for the comp carrier | D. Hartley, MD | "Examinee denies any low back complaints before 01/22/2025." "Apportionment: 30% to pre-existing degenerative disc disease." | VANCE-000084–000097 · CONFLICT |
| 10/14/2025 · PCP visit | Eastside Family Practice, S. Nair, MD | "No lifting over 10 lb... no commercial driving. Expected duration at least 6 months." "PHQ-9 score 16." Starts sertraline. | VANCE-000098–000101 |
| 11/04/2025 · Behavioral health intake | Clearwater Counseling, E. Park, PsyD | "Major depressive disorder, single episode, moderate (F32.1)." | VANCE-000102–000108 |
| 01/22/2025 – 11/28/2025 · Pharmacy fills | Harbor Pharmacy | Cyclobenzaprine, naproxen, gabapentin, sertraline, with fill dates. Kept last because it spans the file | VANCE-000109–000114 |
Other Formats: Narrative, Issue-Based, and Billing-Linked
The same rows can be rearranged for different jobs. Most firms keep the table above as the working file and build the other formats from it.
| Format | Best for | What it hides |
|---|---|---|
| Tabular | The working file, expert review | The story across visits |
| Narrative | Demand letters, mediation briefs, expert cover letters | Gaps and duplicates are easy to miss in prose |
| Issue-based | Causation disputes, IME preparation, single-event malpractice files | Records that fit no issue |
| Billing-linked | Damages, liens, finding missing records | Clinical detail |
Narrative format (medical records summary)
On 01/22/2025, Ms. Vance was seen in the St. Brendan emergency department after she "slipped on icy steps while delivering packages," and she denied radiating pain, numbness, and weakness (VANCE-000010). By 02/10/2025 her pain radiated down the left leg, and her primary care physician ordered an MRI (VANCE-000021). The 02/18/2025 MRI showed a disc extrusion at L4–L5 contacting the left L5 nerve root (VANCE-000025).
Issue-based format
| Issue | What the records say |
|---|---|
| When the leg symptoms began | The ED note denies radiating pain (VANCE-000010). Left leg pain first appears 19 days later (VANCE-000021), and the MRI shows the nerve root contact (VANCE-000025). |
| Prior low back history | Six chiropractic visits in 2023, resolved (VANCE-000001–000009). Two later records say she had no prior back problems (VANCE-000021, VANCE-000084). |
Billing-linked format
| Date | Provider and service | Billed | Paid | Clinical record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/22/2025 | St. Brendan, ED visit and x-ray | $4,812.00 | $2,140.55 | VANCE-000010 |
| 02/24/2025 – 04/28/2025 | Riverside PT, 19 visits billed | $3,610.00 | $1,805.00 | 18 notes, VANCE-000027–000071 |
| 07/08/2025 | Summit, epidural injection | $3,275.00 | $1,310.00 | VANCE-000076 |
Nineteen physical therapy visits were billed against 18 notes, so either a note is missing from the production or a charge is wrong. Record who paid each bill as well, since in many states a workers' compensation carrier can claim reimbursement of what it paid out of a recovery against the building owner.
How the Chronology Changes by Case Type
Ms. Vance's records support three different claims. Each one reads the same rows for different things.
| Case type | Organize around | Rows that carry the file | Columns to add |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal injury | Causation and damages | The ED visit, the 2023 chiropractic care and its discharge, the MRI, the surgery consult | Billed and paid amounts |
| Workers' compensation | Date of injury, notice, work status | The occupational medicine note, every restriction, the IME apportionment, the authorization notes | Work status, authorization status |
| Social Security disability | Function over at least 12 months | Restrictions and their expected duration, the MRI, the depression diagnosis | Alleged onset date, date last insured |
Personal injury. The defense will argue the degenerative findings on the 2025 MRI predate the fall, so separate "prior and resolved" from "prior and ongoing." A chiropractic discharge recording pain at 0/10, 20 months before the fall, supports an aggravation argument. See our personal injury page.
Workers' compensation. Workers' compensation is generally no-fault, so the ice matters less than when the employer was told and which providers were authorized. Tie gaps to authorization: the 46-day gap here follows a pending PT authorization. Notice deadlines and apportionment rules vary by state. For how evaluations work, see QME vs. AME vs. IME.
Social Security disability. SSA defines disability as "the inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity (SGA) by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment(s) which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months" (SSA). For disability insurance benefits, onset also has to fall on or before the date last insured, so put that date at the top of the file (SSA POMS DI 25501.320). Keep the 2023 records as background, since claimants must "inform us about or submit all evidence known to you that relates to whether or not you are blind or disabled" (20 CFR 404.1512). See our Social Security disability page.
A chronology prepared for a defense IME uses the same rows with prior history and conflicting statements moved to the front. Medical malpractice files need times as well as dates around the event, and VA files are organized by claimed condition, as our guide to medical evidence in VA claims explains.
Common Errors and the Corrected Row
| Error | Row as written | Corrected row |
|---|---|---|
| No source | MRI shows L4–L5 herniation. | "Left paracentral disc extrusion at L4–L5..." VANCE-000025 |
| Mixed date formats | Jan. 22, 2025 / 2/10/25 / 2025-01-27, typed as text | 01/22/2025, 01/27/2025, 02/10/2025, stored as dates |
| Duplicate visit | Two rows for 01/22/2025, one from the ED note and one from the bill | One row citing both pages. Two separate ED visits on one day stay as two rows |
| Gap not marked | PT ends 04/28, next row is 06/13 | A gap row with the dates and the number of days |
| Paraphrase changed the meaning | ED: low back pain radiating to the left leg. | ED: "Denies... radiating pain, numbness, or weakness." VANCE-000010 |
| Opinion in the entry | IME: patient exaggerating. | IME: "Subjective complaints exceed objective findings." VANCE-000085 |
From Template to Software
Superinsight builds the same kind of chronology from an uploaded record set. Entries keep the provider's own wording, quoting the record directly and condensing longer notes to the findings that bear on the case. Opening a citation shows the source page with the quoted text highlighted, and when new records arrive, the chronology is re-sorted and contradictions are flagged.
Our sample report runs 28 synthetic source documents, from a 2023 lifting strain to a 2026 maximum medical improvement report, into 42 dated entries. Its case information section lists four sources that disagree on whether the patient lost consciousness and cites each one.
Download the sample report (PDF).
All data in the sample report is synthetic, and any resemblance to any person, living or deceased, is coincidental.
Firms choose a template for the practice area before the report is built. Additionally, Superinsight provides the option to create custom templates that fit your specific workflow.
| Practice area | Templates |
|---|---|
| Medical service | Medical Chronology, Basic Medical Summary, IME Spine Injury |
| Personal injury | PI Medical Chronology (Medical Chronology + Red Flags) |
| Medical malpractice | Med Mal Medical Chronology |
| Social Security disability | 5-Step Review with Chronology, SSA Medical Summary Report |
| Veteran disability | VA Claims File Review, Service Treatment Records Review, Veteran Medical Chronology |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a medical chronology and a medical records summary?
A chronology lists each encounter in date order with a source on every row. A summary condenses the record into a shorter narrative, usually by condition or provider, and is often drafted from the chronology.
Should a medical chronology quote the records or summarize them?
Quote the lines that could be disputed and condense routine visits, such as repeat therapy notes, into grouped rows.
Is Excel or Word better for a medical chronology?
A spreadsheet is better for the working file because rows can be sorted and filtered, and new records can be slotted in by date. Word suits the narrative version and the copy sent to an expert or attached to a demand.
How should a medical chronology show treatment gaps?
Give each gap its own row with the dates and the number of days, and say whether the patient had no care or the records have not been received.
How are pre-existing conditions shown in a medical chronology?
List the earlier records in date order, tag them PRIOR, and note whether the condition had resolved before the incident. Tag later records that deny the history as conflicts.
Should medical bills go in the medical chronology?
Put them in a billing-linked version, with billed and paid amounts next to the clinical record for the same date. Keep a pure clinical review free of bills.
Does Superinsight quote the record and cite the source page for every entry?
Yes. Every entry cites its source document and page, and the citation opens the original page so the reviewer can check it.
See It on Your Own Records
Book a demo to walk through a chronology built from one of your own files, or download the template to start one by hand.