Honest comparison · 2026

Medical chronology services compared —
per-hour, per-page AI, and done-for-you

Direct answer: a medical chronology in 2026 costs roughly $175–$230 from a traditional per-hour vendor ($25–$35/hr on a standard 350-page set), about $17.50 from a per-page AI tool (~$0.05/page, software output you verify yourself), or $750–$2,500 as part of a done-for-you litigation workup — MedLegal AI's version delivers in 48–72 hours with every fact cited to its Bates page and a merit screen included. Which one is right depends on what you need the document to do: orient you, or hold up in litigation.
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The three options

What you're actually choosing between

"Medical chronology service" covers three very different products at three very different price points. All three are legitimate — the mistake is buying one when your case needs another.

Per-hour vendors
Traditional record review
$25–$35 / hr · ≈ $175–$230 per 350-page set
  • A human (often an overseas nurse team) reads and summarizes
  • Days-to-weeks turnaround depending on queue and volume
  • Quality varies by vendor and reviewer; QC is on you
  • Citations typically to document/date, not always to the Bates page
  • Good fit: routine PI volume where cost per file matters most
Per-page AI tools
Self-serve AI extraction
≈ $0.05 / page · ≈ $17.50 per 350-page set
  • Minutes-fast, dramatically cheapest per page
  • Software output — your team verifies every fact before relying on it
  • Accuracy drops on poor scans and handwriting; mis-dated entries happen
  • Usually cites its own extraction, not the Bates-stamped source page
  • Good fit: quick orientation to a record set, high-volume triage
Done-for-you workup
MedLegal AI med-mal workup
$750 pilot · $1,500 standard · $2,500 complex · 48–72h
  • Chronology plus the litigation layer: standard-of-care + causation analysis
  • Every fact cited to the exact Bates page — verifiable in seconds
  • Merit screen included: whether the case is worth taking, stated plainly
  • AI-accelerated, human-reviewed deliverable, not raw software output
  • Good fit: med-mal case decisions, expert handoff, demand and briefing support
Honest tradeoffs

Side-by-side

No option wins every column. Per-hour vendors win on familiarity and low per-file cost at volume. Per-page AI wins on speed and raw price. The done-for-you workup wins when the chronology has to carry litigation weight — and it costs accordingly.

Dimension Per-hour vendor Per-page AI tool MedLegal AI done-for-you
Typical cost (350 pages) ≈ $175–$230 ($25–$35/hr) ≈ $17.50 (~$0.05/page) $750 pilot / $1,500 standard / $2,500 complex
Turnaround Days to weeks Minutes 48–72 hours
What you get Human-written summary/chronology Software-extracted chronology Chronology + standard-of-care & causation analysis + merit screen
Citation depth Document/date level; Bates-page cites vary by vendor Usually cites its own extracted text Every fact pinned to the exact Bates-stamped page
Verification burden on your team Spot-check; re-read for anything load-bearing Full — verify before any litigation use Check any fact in seconds via its pin cite
Merit assessment Not included Not included Included — a plain-language screen on whether the case holds up
Best for Routine PI volume, cost-sensitive files Fast orientation, triage at scale Med-mal case decisions, expert handoff, demand/briefing support
The uncomfortable math

Cheap chronologies re-spend their savings on verification

The three price points aren't really competing on the same job. A $17.50 AI extraction and a $200 vendor summary both hand you a document that someone on your team must re-verify against the records before you cite it in a demand letter, hand it to an expert, or build a deposition outline on it. At paralegal or associate rates, that verification pass quietly costs more than the chronology did.

The done-for-you workup inverts that: the citation work is the product. Every asserted fact carries the Bates page that proves it, so verification takes seconds per fact instead of a re-read of the set — and the merit screen answers the question the chronology alone never does: should you take this case at all? If the answer is no, $750 on the pilot just saved you six figures of contingency time on a case that wouldn't have survived summary judgment.

That said — if you just need to know what's in a record set before a client call tomorrow, don't buy a workup. Run a cheap AI pass or send it to your usual vendor. Use the expensive option when the document has to carry litigation weight.

Vendor and per-page pricing reflects typical published market rates as of August 2026 and varies by provider, volume, and record complexity; verify quotes directly with any vendor. MedLegal AI workup pricing shown is current published pricing. This page is general comparative commentary, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created.
Common questions

FAQ

How much does a medical chronology cost?

In 2026, traditional medical record review vendors typically bill $25–$35 per hour, which works out to roughly $175–$230 for a standard 350-page chronology. Per-page AI tools price around $0.05 per page (about $17.50 for the same set, software output only). Done-for-you litigation workups — like MedLegal AI's Bates-cited med-mal workup with a merit screen — run $750 (pilot) to $1,500 (standard) or $2,500 (complex), delivered in 48–72 hours.

What is the difference between a medical chronology and a med-mal workup?

A chronology lists events from the records in date order. A med-mal workup starts with a chronology and adds the litigation layer: standard-of-care and causation analysis, a merit screen (should you take this case at all), and citations tying every asserted fact to the specific Bates-stamped page that supports it. A chronology tells you what happened; a workup tells you whether you have a case and where the proof sits.

Are cheap per-page AI chronology tools reliable?

They are genuinely fast and cheap, and for a quick orientation to a record set they can be worth it. The honest caveats: output quality varies with scan quality and handwriting, hallucinated or mis-dated entries do happen, and most tools cite to their own extracted text rather than the Bates-stamped source page — so every fact still needs human verification before you rely on it in litigation.

Why do Bates-page citations matter in a chronology?

Because a chronology you can't verify is a chronology you can't use. When every fact cites the exact Bates page, you can check any entry in seconds, hand the document to an expert with pin cites, and use it directly in demand letters, deposition outlines, and briefing. Without page-level citations, someone on your team re-reads the records to confirm each fact — which quietly re-spends the money the cheap chronology saved.

How fast can I get a medical chronology done?

Per-hour vendors typically quote several days to a few weeks depending on volume and queue. Per-page AI tools return output in minutes. MedLegal AI's done-for-you workup is delivered in 48–72 hours, including the chronology, Bates-cited fact support, standard-of-care/causation analysis, and merit screen.

Want to see a Bates-cited workup on your actual case?

30 minutes, your case file, no slides. We'll walk through what the workup produces on real records — and tell you honestly if a cheaper option fits your case better.

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