Disability Doc

A discussion of the 4.12 Peripheral Arterial Disease Listing has been posted in the 4.00 Cardiovascular System section.

A discussion of the 4.11 Chronic Venous Insufficiency Listing has been posted in the 4.00 Cardiovascular System section.

I've posted a discussion of the 4.10 Aneurysm of Aorta or Major Branches Listing, along with a short discussion of Marfan Syndrome, in the 4.00 Cardiovascular System section.

I've posted a discussion of the 4.09 Heart Transplant Listing in the 4.00 Cardiovascular System section.

I have posted a discussion of the 4.06 Congenital Heart Disease Listings in the 4.00 Cardiovascular System section.

I have posted a discussion of the 4.05 Recurrent Arrhythmias Listing in the 4.00 Cardiovascular System section along with a discussion of how SSA evaluates implantable cardiac defibrillators.

I have posted a discussion of the 4.04 Ischemic Heart Disease Listings in the 4.00 Cardiovascular System section.

I've added a discussion of Ischemic Heart Disease as it relates to disability in preparation for detailing the Ischemic Heart Disease Listings. I've also moved the "Chronic Heart Failure and Disability" article into the Cardiovascular System section for better continuity.

I have posted a discussion of the 4.02 Chronic Heart Failure Listings in the 4.00 Cardiovascular System section.

After a prolonged hiatus, I have begun posting again to this website. In preparation for an upcoming discussion of the most recently revised Cardiovascular Listings, I've updated the "Chronic Heart Failure and Disability" article in the "General Articles" section to reflect some of these revisions. Thanks to all of you who sent encouraging emails to get this rolling again.

Forgive me for not posting anything on this web site in a while, but my Internal Medicine practice has been keeping me very busy. Today, I posted an article on Continuing Disability Reviews (CDR), and an article on reasons why Social Security disability benefits may be ceased. These two articles are found in the "Information for Disability Applicants" section under the module titled "Continuing Disability Review."

In the "General Articles" section, I posted two articles summarizing Social Security Ruling "SSR 99-2p: Policy Interpretation Ruling Titles II and XVI: Evaluating Cases Involving Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)." In those articles, I describe CFS, summarize the Ruling, discuss how to use the Ruling to support applications for disability involving CFS, and give you a nice summary of how to present a strong case for disability due to CFS.  

An e-Book about winning Social Security disability for Interstitial Cystitis has been added to the "Downloads" section of the web site. It contains a concise review of the disability application process, shows how to answer questions found on application forms, and contains an example "letter from your doctor."

I posted a new module containing a discussion of Social Security's "7.00 Hematological Disorders" listings, which became effective (12/15/04).

In the "General Articles" section of the web site, I've posted a discussion of an interesting report released by the General Accountability Office (GAO) in May 2005.

In it, the GAO discusses how applicants with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are more likely to be allowed on appeal to the hearings level, and how this fact is reflected for applicants with other conditions. The article gives specific percentages of allowances, some of which vary significantly between the DDS level and the hearings level, especially at step five of the sequential evaluation process. 

The article also reports that applicants who are represented at the hearings level have higher allowance rates; and after a little research, I've documented the odds for being allowed versus being denied when represented at the hearings level. Some of you attorneys and non-attorney reps may want to use those figures in your marketing material.  

I've posted a "Work Description and Medical-Vocational Terms" module in the "Vocational Guidelines" section, mainly so applicants will have a better understanding of how a description of job requirements plays into steps 4 and 5 of the sequential evaluation. Included is a link to download the "Physical Residual Functional Capacity" (RFC) form as a fill-in-the-blank Word template. This physical RFC form is used by disability examiners and medical consultants to describe the most work activity an applicant can do on a sustained basis despite the underlying medical condition(s).

I've posted an article in the "Quality Assurance" module that summarizes The Lewin Group's 2001 independent evaluation of Social Security's disability Quality Assurance (QA) process. This article details how the QA process works, and includes interesting theories on why disability decisions vary so much between different states, and between the Disability Determination Services (DDS) and the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA).

I posted discussion of the new rule for evaluating multiple body systems, which will become effective October 31, 2005. This new rule mainly addresses evaluating non-mosaic Down Syndrome, listing 10.06.

For those of you who are "subscribing" to this web site via RSS feeds, I recommend that you only subscribe to the "Updates" section since I will use this section to notify visitors of all new postings or additions to this web site.

In the "General Articles" section, I posted a nice summary about chronic heart failure as it relates to Social Security disability claims.

I posted a diverse set of Disability Determination Services (DDS) vocational questions and answers in the "Vocational Guidelines" module. It provides some insight into how disability examiners have been instructed on vocational issues in disability claims.