Do Not include in MER costs, the costs associated with DDS personnel securing evidence
of record directly from the custodian. For example, a DDS employee travels weekly
to hospital X and clinic Y to photocopy medical records. Clinic Y does not have a
photocopy machine so the DDS employee must bring a portable copier.
Do not include on the MER costs, the costs of the employee's time, travel and purchase
of the portable copier. The employee's time is a personnel cost, travel is an employee
travel cost, and the portable copier is an equipment cost.
If hospital X charges for the use of their copy machine, this would be an MER cost.
If, rather than use a DDS employee, the DDS contracts out the functions of copying
reports, these copies are “contracting out” costs.