“Medically Determinable Impairment”: Know the Requirements

If you need help with your Social Security disability claim, call a Charlotte disability attorney at Bridgman Law at 888-632-9122 now!”

A Charlotte disability attorney can give you information regarding the basics about government standards for Social Security disability (SSD) determination. One important concept is a “medically determinable impairment.”

Can a doctor make a diagnosis? That may be the most important question about a disability. To arrive at a diagnosis, the health care provider may need more than complaints of symptoms from the patient. Laboratory and diagnostic tests are often needed. However, common sense is also applied. For example, some conditions are documented only from patients’ reports of pain. But even for these, the government uses measures such as tender points to evaluate the condition. If someone suffers from migraines, that may never show up on an imaging test. However, it may be a condition leading to disability eligibility if it prevents someone from working. A careful doctor evaluation would document symptoms and rule out other causes.

Do Doctors Need Insurance Expertise?

As a Charlotte disability attorney will tell you, the process of disability determination is very strictly defined. It may seem that this forces doctors to be concerned about government regulations instead of healing. Fortunately, this is not so. Doctors can still focus on diagnosis and treatment, while government and legal experts use the medical facts and apply the needed standards for the SSD program.

It is not the doctor’s job to declare a person disabled, and, in fact, the doctor’s views on non-medical determinations do not sway the Social Security Administration. What the government needs from a doctor are medical facts and impressions, as well as reports of how well the patient functions.

Contact

If you want to learn more about the legal standards that are so critical to disability eligibility, contact a Charlotte disability attorney at Bridgman Law Offices PLLC at 888-632-9122.