The Disability Administrative Review Process is Complex
The process of filing and going through the administrative review process for social security disability is complex and can be grueling. The Social Security Administration (SSA) will pry into every area of your life to determine if you can work. This invasion of privacy can seem unnecessary, leading people to ask if they need to provide medical records to receive disability.
While you must prove that you have a disability with objective medical evidence, you may not have to disclose everything. Because not providing requested information can lead to denial of your claim, you need an experienced attorney like Bruce Weider on your side. Contact us today for assistance, or keep reading to learn more.
Why Does Social Security Need My Medical Records?
By law, the SSA is required to gather specific medical evidence of a disability. This must be “objective medical evidence” from an “acceptable medical source.” Furthermore, the SSA website states that you must “inform SSA about or submit all evidence known to him or her that relates to whether or not he or she is blind or disabled.”
Social Security will also gather personal information, talk to friends, family, and caregivers, and pry into other details of your daily life to determine how well you function with your disabilities. This can be a trying but necessary process, and it is best to prepare your loved ones for the possibility that they will be contacted as well.
What Medical Records Are Required for Disability?
The SSA will gather medical records for you based on information you provide about the treatment and healthcare you have received for your disability. They will ask you to provide details of where you have been seen so that they can gather these records.
The medical records that may be required for disability include:
- Doctors who have treated you for your impairment
- Imaging that has been done showing your impairment
- Records of related hospital visits
- Records from other clinics and health facilities as appropriate
It is important to keep in mind that you only need to provide records and provider information for those things related to your claimed disability. You may receive other healthcare treatment that you do not wish to disclose. If it is not related to your disability, it is not necessary.
Confidentiality Reasons to Avoid Providing Medical Records
There are some instances in which you might want to avoid providing medical records for confidentiality reasons. You must understand that refusing to provide specifically requested information will result in denial of your disability claim. However, if the records are not related to your disability you may not have to provide them.
A classic example of this is someone seeking mental health treatment. If the qualifying impairment is a physical disability and unrelated to mental health, that treatment may not have to be disclosed. People often disclose very personal history in these sessions, and it is natural to not want to share them.
How Do I Know What to Provide to Social Security Disability?
The SSA does what it can to ensure that you know what is required of you - to an extent. The details of how to complete some of the forms, and what information is necessary to provide, can be confusing. The best way to know what to provide for social security disability is to speak to an experienced attorney.
Bruce Weider has been representing clients seeking Social Security disability and SSI for 30 years. Contact us today for a free consultation.
