LET YOUR DOCTOR HELP YOU GET DISABILITY BENEFITS

While some doctors seem reluctant to get involved with the disability determination process, others are concerned about their patient's overall well being and will provide truthful, fair evaluations of medical conditions.

The truth is that Social Security places a lot of value on the opinion of the doctors who treat you.  Your treating doctor is recognized as the person most familiar with your medical conditions, symptoms and restrictions. Your doctor's opinions will be given more weight than the opinion of other doctors, such as a doctor who works for Social Security.

Social Security states their position on this in the federal regulations at 20 CFR 494.1527.

As an advocate who has appeared a hundreds of disability hearings, here are some things I have learned about obtaining doctor's written evidence:
  • It takes more than routine medical records.
  • The doctor's opinion must be very specific as to the restrictions imposed by your symptoms or conditions.
  • It's best to use a form used and approved by Social Security to obtain these specific restrictions.
  •  The form should give a date when these restrictions were first observed to be present (affects back pay).
  • Your doctor's opinions must be supported by objective medical evidence (lab tests, X-rays, MRIs, exams, etc.).
  • Your doctor cannot approve you or sign you up for benefits.  His/her opinion is one piece of evidence, among others, that will be considered.
 I urge my clients to try to speak face-to-face with their doctors about this matter.  Keep in mind that nurses, receptionists and other staff are often trained to keep patients away from the doctors, other than for their scheduled appointments.  Perhaps you should discuss your disability with your doctor during a regular appointment.

A few doctors seem self-absorbed in their own little world of clinical practice and don't seem to care about their patient's disability or other needs.   

We hope this is not a picture of your doctor.

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