Commonwealth of MassachusettsDepartment of Industrial Accidents

Formatting Conference DocumentsFormatting Conference Documentsin PDF for Impartial Physiciansin PDF for Impartial Physicians

This tutorial is designed to demonstrate how attorneys can create Conference medical and

non-medical packets in PDF format with bookmarks.

The first and most important requirement is for a current version of Adobe Acrobat (version 9.0 or later). This version allows the user to create PDFs, combine several PDFs into a single file and bookmark the files for easy reference. Be advised, Adobe Reader does not have the necessary features to create a properly formatted Conference packet – only Adobe Acrobat or better can accomplish this.

Next and equally important is the ability to scan documents. Most copiers manufactured within the last 5 years have a scanning function built in, and most will scan documents to a PDF format. There are also off-the-shelf scanners for less the $300.00 that can fit the bill and will also scan directly to PDF. Any office supply store or vendor should have them in stock.

Adobe Acrobat Pro version 9 shown above. The “Pro” version has many excellent features, but it is not necessary for this purpose. The “Standard” version of Adobe Acrobat is sufficient.

Go to www.adobe.com for details on Adobe Acrobat.

When scanning documents, most devices will prompt you to name the file. This is a key step, because a properly named file will be more easily identified and will be the basis of a bookmark as you will see later.

Save scanned document to a case folder;

Give the scanned document a meaningful name – i.e. “Steve Jones, M.D. - Office notes 5-20-2011.”

DO NOT simply call the document “Medical Records.”

Saving Scanned DocumentsSaving Scanned Documents

Once you have saved your scanned documents and named them, it will be time to combine them into a single PDF. Using the “Combine” function will accomplish this:

Click on “Combine” and then select“Merge Files into a Single PDF…”

A new window opens – select “Add Files”

Select the PDF documents (the ones you scanned and named).

Tip – you can select all the documents by holding down the shift key and then clicking on the top and then the bottom file name. You can also select the files one at a time. The order which you select the documents will be the order in which they are combined. Then click on “Add Files.” Be sure to put your Conference Packet Index as the first document. You can also combine other file formats such as Word.

The “Combine Files” window will then show all the files you selected. You can add more if needed.

When all have been added, click on the “Combine Files” button in the lower right of the window.

You can rearrange the order of the documents by using the “Move Up” and “Move Down” button shown here.

Once all the files have been combined, you will be prompted to save the new combined PDF. This is where the new combined file must be named properly. For example “EE Impartial PDF File – M. Adams #3456-09”

Acrobat will then begin combining the files

Note:Note: The procedure for Non-medical submissions is the same. The final combined PDF file should be identified as the Non-med. submission.For example “Ins. Conf. Non-Med. – M. Adams #3456-09.”

Combining your PDF files.Combining your PDF files.

Your new combined PDF will open. You can then save it to your computer and to a CD if you choose to submit it to the Judge in that manner. In the alternative, you can e-mail the packet to the Judge’s office.

This icon allows you to view the bookmarks.

Viewing PDF w/ BookmarksViewing PDF w/ Bookmarks

The bookmarks were automatically embedded when the PDFs were combined. This is how all parties, including the Impartial Physician, will view the conference med. packets.

Embedded bookmarks

Clicking on each bookmark will jump you to that document!

Submitting the PDF files to the Admin. JudgeSubmitting the PDF files to the Admin. Judge may be accomplished two ways; via CD-ROM given to the Judge at the Conference or via e-mail any time before or shortly after the Conference. If you choose e-mail, you must send the correspondence to the Admin. Judge, his/her assistant and opposing counsel. The Subject Line of the e-mail must read “Conference PDF packet – Insurer – M. Adams #3456-09.” It is strongly recommended that you encrypt the e-mail. Most PC based e-mail programs have built-in encryption capabilities. Below are the steps to encrypting e-mail in Microsoft Outlook:

Select “Tools”, then “Options”:

Select the “Security” tab and check off the box“Encrypt contents and attachments for outgoing messages.” You may need to obtain a Digital ID to accomplish this. Click on this button and follow the directions.

In addition, there are a number of Internet-based services that allow secure transmittal of documents – i.e. You Send It, Citrix, McAfee, etc. Web-based e-mail programs such as AOL, Hotmail, G-mail, Yahoo, etc. may also have encryption options. Please refer to those programs for assistance.