The Role Of Medical Records In Disability Claims

The most important part of a Social Security disability claim is the evidence. In a sense, medical records are the best evidence there is if you’re trying to demonstrate the true extent of your disability.

But what kind of medical records do you need? 

Typically, you need acceptable medical evidence that shows that you are suffering from a medically determinable impairment. These are documents such as test results, and treatment notes from an acceptable medical source.

The natural question here is if the medical records you have right now are enough. This may be impossible to tell unless you work with a vocational expert specializing in the review of medical records.

Before determining the medical record review cost and why you may need it, we should first talk a little bit more about the medical records in disability claims in general.

The Value of Medical Records 

You might have heard that the Social Security Administration will require you to attend an independent examination to assess your symptoms and different medical diagnoses. While that’s true, you still need medical records that prove that you received a diagnosis on your own and looked for the necessary treatment.

In many cases, judges have stated that the claimant’s ailments may not be as severe as they claim since they didn’t seek or receive medical treatment on their own.

It’s also worth noting that medical records help prove your disability as they contain clinical findings from legitimate medical professionals who provided their service regularly. They are even more powerful if the diagnoses were established by a medical provider specialized in your particular ailment.

Ultimately, these types of medical records carry a significant amount of weight, and Social Security will without a doubt use them to determine if your condition really prevents you from working and finding gainful employment.

Are All Medical Records Equally Valuable?

The most valuable medical records are what are considered objective test results. This includes MRIs, pulmonary function tests, X-rays, etc. You get the picture, these are all types of tests that provide clear data that demonstrates the severity of your medical condition.

In some cases, if you have the necessary medical records that contain hard data, you can even prove your disability without even describing if you can perform your usual work activities. 

This usually happens for listed conditions that have a clear listing of impairments, which allows you to provide the results from certain tests that place you above or below a particular cutoff number.

However, this doesn’t apply to those medical conditions which are impossible to diagnose through objective tests. Think fibromyalgia, mental disorders, or headaches.

Immune system disorders, epilepsy, and conditions like diabetes will, unfortunately, require more than just test findings and diagnoses. Your medical records should include documents that describe the frequency and severity of your symptoms. This is the only way for these ailments to be considered disabling. 

For instance, in cases such as this, it’s necessary to provide treatment notes from specialists which prove you are conditions are being consistently treated and that you comply with the medical providers’ orders.

Submitting Medical Records For The Hearing

Fortunately, if you have an attorney assisting you in the process, they will submit all the medical records to Social Security on your behalf. 

However, it’s important to remember that during the initial stages (reconsideration level), Social Security will request and pay for the medical records required for your claim. When it comes to the hearing, your attorney will have to submit your medical records.

This process is more complex than it seems as there is a lot of waiting around involved. This is why many attorneys wait for the hearing to be scheduled until they request the new medical records. There is sound logic behind this:

There are fees involved with requesting records, so it’s easier to do it in bulk. But more importantly, if they submitted the records too early, they might not have the opportunity to file all the records created before the hearing. 

Again, this is a balancing act, since requesting records too late, may not be able to be submitted for the hearing.

Additionally, it doesn’t hurt to also document all the doctor's appointments and time spent in treatment during this time. 

How Much Does a Medical Record Review Cost?

Since your case relies heavily on your medical records, to ensure a positive outcome on your hearing, you might consider hiring an additional expert. Vocational experts at OAS often leverage our experience as medical record review consultants to evaluate cases that include a large amount of healthcare information.

Our services may include analyzing all your documentation, creating comprehensive reposts, and performing analyses.

A vocational evaluation is a significant component of your disability hearing, and since the Social Security Administration will have its own vocational expert testifying, you should also have one. Since medical records are a crucial part of performing a vocational evaluation, you may need a medical record review for you to successfully challenge the information brought forth by the opposing vocational expert. 

What you’re probably wondering about is how much does a medical record review cost. It depends on the number of medical records. 

To illustrate, the price of vocational evaluation used to go as high as $5k a few years ago. Once you adjust the figures for inflation, the prices are now slightly higher (about a few hundred dollars). 

While this price may seem steep, the medical record review cost and consequently the costs of hiring a vocational expert are worth it. Especially when you consider they can help increase the chances of you receiving your well-deserved disability benefits.

If that’s not a worthy investment, we don’t know what is.

Contact OAS Now To Receive A Quote For A Medical Record Review Cost

Having an extra line of defense at your SSDI benefits hearing can never hurt, and you should hire someone with the wealth of experience that your case deserves. Experts at Occupational Assestment Service, Inc have been providing life care planning, vocational evaluation, and medical record review services for over four decades. 

Contact OAS at 1-800-292-1919 and receive the best vocational services possible