Personal health records and improving the disability determination process

Over 2.5 million individuals or their representatives apply for disability benefits with SSA annually, a trying process that can take months or even years. SSA is determined to minimize the effort and difficulty associated with pursuing a disability claim. To achieve this, SSA is implementing an intelligent disability process vision that incorporates the latest in HIT functionality in every aspect of the disability claims adjudication process. As the HIT industry has evolved into a more patient-centric entity, the personal health record (PHR) has undergone a recent surge in popularity that has spurred both adoption and the development of new functionalities. SSA has witnessed this advancement and adapted the intelligent disability process vision to place PHRs at the forefront of mechanisms through which the HIT industry can be leveraged for the benefit of the disabled population.

As the PHR market continues to grow, more information will become available to the consumer and to those who they choose to provide access to their information. The claimant could choose to provide PHR information to SSA as they begin the disability application process. The effects of having this more complete and accurate set of information at the outset are seen throughout the claim development and adjudication process. There could be a greatly decreased burden on the disabled consumer to assemble and provide information. The interviewer could be able to confirm and verify information rather than rely on the claimant to remember this data. Treating sources could be accurately identified, reducing the amount of unattained documentation. This should reduce time consuming consultative examinations which may be a result of requesting records from the wrong source.

In summation, SSA sees the PHR as an excellent opportunity to vastly reduce the time taken to adjudicate a disability claim. A more efficient disability determination process will have a myriad of far-reaching quantitative and qualitative benefits to the consumer. SSA is excited to share these benefits with the APHA constituency and the public at large.