An independent medical evaluation, or IME, is an examination performed by a clinician who is not the patient's treating provider, producing an objective assessment of a condition: diagnosis, severity, and, where asked, a professional opinion on specific medical questions. The evaluator's independence is the point; their conclusions reflect their own clinical judgment, not a treatment relationship or any party's preferred outcome.

In the VA context, an IME is private medical evidence a veteran can obtain and submit. It differs from a C&P exam in who initiates it: the VA schedules claim exams with its own or contracted examiners, while an IME is arranged outside the VA and submitted by the veteran. The VA is required to consider relevant private medical evidence alongside its own examinations.

An IME is only as strong as its clinical foundation. An evaluation that examines the person, reviews the history, and documents findings in measurable terms carries weight; a conclusion without support does not.