Documenting Your Medical Problems, Treatment and Limitations

When you apply for Social Security Disability Benefits, you have to be able to assist the Social Security representatives in getting records of your medical care, and naturally, it would be best if the medical records that they get are ones which clearly identify your medical problems, physical and mental limitations and help to support your inability to work. In order to make that possible, there are three things you can do to insure that your medical care is correctly and fully documented in your medical records:

#1 Set up a regular schedule for appointments with your doctor. Whether you see him or her once a week, once a month, every three months is not as important so much as your continuing to treat with him or her on a regular basis. More often is preferred, of course, but regular appointments is paramount. The more often you contact your doctor for help, the better, but you don’t want to become a nuisance. Only go or call when you need help. And, make sure that he or she is recording all of your complaints during your appointment. If they do not record them, as far as Social Security is concerned, you never complained about them.

#2 Shortly before your doctor’s appointment, type up a good list of everything that is wrong with you, putting the most important problems first. The more description you put on your list, the better your doctor will understand what is going on with you medically, and that will make it easier for him or her to treat all of your problems. It will do one more thing, as well: it will make it easier for your doctor to dictate in his office and progress notes everything that you have listed for him that is bothering you. That will help to make your medical records more helpful in your effort to obtain Social Security Disability benefits. Remember, if it is not written down somewhere in your medical chart, it will be very difficult for you to claim that you had a medical problem, complained about it to your doctor, and that you were treated for it.

#3 If you are not able to make an appointment, tell your doctor’s office in detail exactly what problems you are having that day which made it impossible for you to make it to your appointment. If you are too tired to make it in, if you have have a flare-up of depression or pain, be sure to tell your doctor's office personnel so they can put it in your medical chart. A missed appointment without any explanation of why you missed it is not nearly as valuable as an explanation of what problems prevented you from making it in. It is also courteous and considerate to let your doctor know if you cannot make it in, and it will also provide more information about your medical condition.

And remember, never, never, never, never, never, never, never give up, as Britain’s former Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said, to which I would add appeal, appeal, appeal - and appeal again.