Your Doctor's Report:

[Guest guest]

Your Doctor's Report:If your physician has not already suggested that you apply for Disability Benefits, talk with him/her about your desire to do so. Find out what his/her opinion is on your condition and if their recommendation would be that you not attempt to gain or continue employment. While your physician's statement of your disability will not get your approved, if your physician doesn't agree with your decision to apply for SSD, then you will not have anything to back up your claim if you have to go through a court hearing. If your physician doesn't believe that you are disabled, then either find another doctor or find a different type of job. However, if your physician agrees that you are not able to commit to employment or that the stress of a job would endanger your condition, then proceed to the next section. Ask your doctor if he/she would write a letter concerning your illness, treatments, and your inability to work. The following is a guideline you can print and take to your doctor, asking that he follow this format in writing your medical report. It will help your claim -- maybe not immediately, but definitely in the long run.----------------------------------------------------------------------WRITING A NARRATIVE REPORTAn efficient medical report must specifically address these issues:1) Are there medically determinable impairments?2) Do the impairments significantly limit the patient's ability to perform substancial gainful work?3) Will the impairment last for a continuous period of more than one year — Is the impairment expected to result in death?Within these guidelines, the following information written in a narrative format will greatly enhance the patient's claim:a) MEDICAL HISTORY/CLINICAL AND LAB FINDINGS:State experience with the patient: date first seen, frequency of visits, findings and conclusions.Identify all diagnosed conditions and symptoms involved. TREATMENT, RESPONSE, AND SIDE-EFFECTS:Describe any prescribed treatment or regimen and the response. Explain whether withdraw of the regimen would worsen the patient's impairments.c) FUNCTIONAL INCAPACITIES, HAZARDS, AND RESTRICIONS:Explain the process and severity of the impairments, describe any variance of the interference with activities, and for how long into the future the imapirments will continue and if they are likely to worsen over time. As described by the patient, state the type and severity of pain involved.d) EMPHASIZE any potential for work interruptions caused by impairments, treatments, and/or side-effects.e) EMPHASIZE impairments of the key capacities and be precise about enviromental hazards or resctictions.f) Be explicit about treatment side-effects.g) EMPHASIZE conditions which would be difficult to feign (make up), particularly those involving severity of pain and symptoms which are difficult to document with accurate description.

Much Love,

Deanna

~ ~LUPUS Serenity Prayer~~

Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to hide the bodies of doctors I shot when they said, "You're perfectly healthy, it's all in your head"