Frequency of Medical Treatment

The frequency of your medical treatment is an important factor in your Social Security disability claim. A diagnosis is a first step, but a judge must evaluate your functional limitations due to your medical condition. And when evaluating the seriousness of your functional limitations, regular doctor visits are helpful. Looking at the cases of mine that were not granted in the past year or so, the lack of medical treatment played a role in almost every one.

There a lots of reasons not to go to the doctor. There are co-pays. Sometimes there is little the doctor can do for you. Perhaps you do not want to complain to the doctor about your daily struggles. But without regular doctor visits, you may have an uphill battle for disability benefits.

Also, the more the doctor sees you and is familiar with your condition, the more likely that the doctor will provide an opinion regarding your functional limitations. Those opinions are often the most persuasive medical evidence available to a person seeking disability benefits.

The things you tell your doctor about how you are doing (and what you are doing with your time) frequently end up in your medical progress notes. These progress notes provide your doctors with context and information about your condition.

Anyone applying for disability needs to know that those medical notes become part of the record for your disability claim. These notes are read carefully by the people making decisions on your claim, whether that person is a disability examiner or an administrative law judge.

You have to be careful what you tell your doctor because those statements made to your doctor are considered when the medical evidence is assessed by a decisionmaker.

So be careful what you say to your doctor, because it may end up in your medical notes in a way that can raise questions about your claim.

If you need help applying for Social Security Disability or SSI, please contact me at joshben99@gmail.com. I have over 24 years experience with Social Security Disability cases. I handle cases all over the United States.