One of the best ways you have to strengthen your disability claim is to maintain constant contact with your physician. This means making sure that you see your physician regularly, attend all scheduled appointments, and keep the SSA informed of any changes or updates on your condition. Doing so will not only give you more information to use, but can also be used to show the Social Security Administration that you are doing whatever you can to improve your disability.
It is also important to keep in contact with your physician(s) after you have been awarded disability. The SSA will ask for updates every so often while you are collecting Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, to make sure your disabling condition still meets the SSA requirements to be covered by disability benefits. By staying up to date with your doctor you will be able to show a need to remain on disability. Many times people have had a disability claim approved only to have their benefits ended because they stopped seeing their physician. If you stop seeing your physician, the SSA will see this as a sign of significant improvement to your condition.
Schedule Regular Appointments
Even if you feel like you don't need them, scheduling regular appointments with your doctor is a very important part of applying for disability benefits. The more often you see your doctor, the more information you can give to the SSA. Seeing your physician regularly can show your caseworker that you are serious about your disability, which can only help your disability claim.
Follow Prescribed Treatments
Another important aspect of the application process is showing that you follow your prescribed treatments. Every year, the SSA receives applications from people without legitimate disabilities and one of the ways they determine if a disability is real is whether or not the applicant is showing a serious effort to follow the recommendations of their doctors.
Inform the SSA of any Changes
If something about your condition changes or a new condition develops during the time of your disability claim, make sure to inform the SSA of the change as soon as possible. While some people worry this may result in a denial, the truth is that keeping the SSA updated about changes to your condition actually strengthens your case. By making the SSA aware of changes you show them that you are genuinely trying to obtain benefits due to a current disability.
It might be difficult for you to maintain regular contact with your physician(s), but this is an extremely important part of the disability claim process. By not only staying in contact with your doctor, but by following their suggestions, you strengthen your claim in many ways. First, you never know what piece of information you send in will determine the outcome of your case. Second, by showing your caseworker you are taking your claim seriously, they will be more likely to react favorably to your application.
Also keep in mind that if you are going through an appeal, constant contact with a physician can greatly improve your odds of having your claim accepted the second time around. In the end, you should always use every available resource and follow all advice from a physician in order to get your disability claim approved.
