Preparing for a Disability Conversation When Your Records Are Scattered

You need a map of your records, not the records themselves

A disability claim is decided on medical records, but you do not have to collect them all before you start. Social Security requests records from the providers you list, with your permission, and develops your medical history for at least the 12 months before the month you apply. What it needs from you is a complete list of where to look.

Source: 20 CFR 404.1512.

Where to find providers you have forgotten

• Patient portals. Visit histories often go back years.
• Pharmacy records. Each prescription names the provider who wrote it.
• Insurance statements. Explanation-of-benefits statements list each provider who billed.
• Bank and card statements. Copays show where you were seen, and when.
• Your calendar or phone. Appointment reminders and call logs fill gaps.

Plan on the list taking two or three sittings; it rarely comes together all at once, and each pass turns up a name the last one missed.

Getting copies of your own medical records

Federal privacy law gives you a right to inspect and get a copy of your own health records. A provider generally has 30 days to act on a request, with one extension of up to 30 more days if it explains the delay in writing. Copies are useful to have, but they are not a requirement for starting a claim.

Source: 45 CFR 164.524.

If there are gaps in your medical care

Gaps happen, often because of cost, insurance, transportation, or a provider who closed. A gap is easier to deal with when it is explained plainly than when it is left for someone else to interpret. Write down when the gap was and why, in a sentence or two, and keep it with your provider list.

A worksheet for your provider list

The Medical Provider Organizer has columns for each provider, what you see them for, and approximate dates, plus space for hospital stays and tests.