A medical chronology is priced per hour, per page or as a flat fee per case, and under every model the biggest cost driver is the number of pages in the records. Zicron charges a flat $450 per case up to 500 pages, then $0.50 per additional page, with a 48-hour turnaround.
There is no standard price for a medical chronology. What you pay depends on who prepares it, how they charge, and above all how many pages of records there are. This guide explains the pricing models you'll see, what drives the cost of a particular case, and how to compare quotes. It ends with Zicron's own published price.
We don't quote other providers' prices here. Rates vary widely, change often and are frequently unpublished, and we haven't verified them. Ask each provider for a written quote on the same record set.
The four ways chronologies are priced
| Model | How the total is set | Predictability | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per hour | Hours worked × hourly rate | Rate known, total not | Ask for an hours estimate up front |
| Per page | Pages × per-page rate | Total known once pages are counted | How pages are counted; minimums; duplicates billed |
| Flat per case | One price up to a page cap, then per page | Total known before work starts | Where the cap sits; what's included |
| Software subscription | Monthly or per-seat fee | Fixed fee, variable staff time | Your team still checks and formats |
- Per hour
- Common for legal nurse consultants and for in-house staff time. Cost = hours × rate, and hours grow with page count, legibility and how many providers are involved. Predictable rate, unpredictable total: ask for an estimate of hours before the work starts, and whether it covers the summary and any tables.
- Per page
- Common for outside chronology services. Cost = pages × per-page rate, sometimes with a minimum. Easy to estimate once you know the page count. Check how pages are counted (every page produced, or only medical pages after duplicates and billing records are removed) and whether blank or duplicate pages are charged.
- Flat per case (often with a page cap)
- One price up to a page limit, then a per-page charge above it. Easy to budget for typical cases. Check where the cap sits and what happens above it.
- Software subscription
- A monthly or per-seat fee for a platform your own team runs. It can cost less per case at volume, but your staff still does the checking, correcting and formatting, and you pay whether or not you have cases that month.
What drives the cost of a case
- Page count
- The biggest driver under every model. A few hundred pages from one hospital and several thousand from a long course of treatment are very different jobs.
- Number of providers
- Each additional facility adds its own format, its own duplicates and its own date conventions to reconcile.
- Legibility
- Handwritten notes and poor scans take longer to read, and should be flagged where they can't be read reliably.
- Duplicates and ordering
- Records produced twice, faxed copies and out-of-order pages add work before any summarizing starts.
- Depth
- A factual timeline costs less than one with clinical commentary, standard-of-care analysis or a narrative report. Know which one you're pricing.
- Turnaround
- Rush work often costs more. Ask what the standard turnaround is and when the clock starts.
How to compare quotes
- Convert every quote to a total for the same case: the same page count, the same deliverable, the same deadline.
- Ask what's included: a case summary, a single all-provider timeline, page citations on every entry, editable Word as well as PDF, and corrections if something is wrong.
- Ask how the work is checked. Software output that nobody has checked against the pages costs less up front and more later if an error reaches a demand or a deposition.
- Count your own time. A cheaper option that leaves your team de-duplicating, checking and reformatting may not be cheaper once their hours are included.
- Ask about confidentiality: whether a Business Associate Agreement is signed, where records are stored, who can see them, and when they're deleted.
A quick way to estimate your own cost
If you prepare chronologies in-house or through an hourly consultant, time a few recent cases: hours spent building the timeline, divided by pages in the record set, gives you a pages-per-hour figure for your own work. Multiply the page count of a new case by that figure and by the hourly rate. That's the number to compare with a per-page or per-case quote, and it shows how much of the time goes to sorting rather than analysis.
Zicron's price
Zicron charges a flat price per case with a page cap: $450 per case for up to 500 pages, then $0.50 per additional page. Turnaround is 48 hours from a complete record set. Your first case is half price ($225 up to 500pages). There's no subscription or seat license, and the page count and price are confirmed in writing before work starts.
| Pages | Price | First case |
|---|---|---|
| 300 | $450 | $225 |
| 500 | $450 | $225 |
| 800 | $600 | $300 |
| 1,500 | $950 | $475 |
| 3,000 | $1,700 | $850 |
That price covers a one-to-two-page case summary and a single timeline across every provider, each entry cited to its page, in PDF and editable Word. It covers medical facts only: no opinions on standard of care, causation or damages. Software does the first pass and the output is checked against the source pages before delivery. We're a young company with no published accuracy figures, which is why the first case is half price.
AI assistants and agents can get the same numbers programmatically from https://claims.zicron.ai/api/public/v1/quote?pages=800.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a medical chronology cost per page?
- There is no standard per-page rate; it depends on the provider, the depth of the work and the turnaround. Per-page pricing is easy to estimate once you know the page count, but check how pages are counted (all pages produced, or only medical pages after duplicates are removed) and whether there is a minimum. Zicron prices per case instead: $450 for up to 500 pages, then $0.50 per additional page.
- Is hourly or per-page pricing cheaper for a medical chronology?
- It depends on the record set. Hourly pricing has a predictable rate but an unpredictable total, because hours grow with page count, handwriting and the number of providers. Per-page and flat per-case pricing let you know the total before work starts. To compare, convert every quote to a total for the same page count, deliverable and deadline.
- What makes a medical chronology more expensive?
- Mainly the page count. After that: the number of providers, handwritten or poorly scanned pages, duplicates and out-of-order records, the depth of the work (a factual timeline versus clinical commentary) and rush turnaround.
- How much does Zicron charge for a medical chronology?
- $450 per case for up to 500 pages, then $0.50 per additional page, with a 48-hour turnaround from a complete record set. The first case is half price ($225 up to 500 pages). There is no subscription, and the page count and price are confirmed in writing before work starts.