When you apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, your medical records will play an integral part in whether you are approved for benefits.
What one may not realize is that there are multiple ways to get your records from your doctors to the Social Security Administration (SSA). One way is to let SSA know about all of your treating providers and let them pull the medical records for your file directly. This method works best when your claim is at the initial or reconsideration level. At either of those levels, your claim is reviewed by an adjudicator who works with you to help develop your case.
However, the adjudicator may not always succeed in pulling all of your medical records, which will lead them to make a decision on your application or reconsideration without a complete medical file. This can sometimes lead to a wrongful denial, prompting you to appeal the decision and drag out the process. Therefore, sometimes, you can help the adjudicator pull the medical records. This sometimes means calling your doctors offices or hospitals to check on the records requests from the adjudicator, or sometimes just requesting your file on your own to then submit to the adjudicator.
A third way to pull medical records relating to a disability case is to hire an attorney and have them work with you and the adjudicator to pull all medical records and ensure they are submitted. Often, the attorney will help facilitate (but not necessarily request on their own) the requests for medical records at the initial and reconsideration levels. At the hearing level, however, the attorney will usually be the only one (with your help) requesting medical records to submit to SSA.
In short, there are a variety of ways to get your medical records from your doctors to SSA to help them determine your claim. However, the system works best when all parties work together to ensure a complete record. It is imperative that you always keep your lawyer in the loop on any new providers, hospitalizations, and ER visits. This will help them compile a complete list of the medical records needed to prove your claim.
If you are in the middle of applying for SSI or SSDI and want help with your claim, contact an experienced disability lawyer today.