Indiana Social Security Disability Attorney

Tom S. Ebbinghouse, Attorney At Law, Social Security Disability Indianapolis, Indiana

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SSA To Use Computers to Analyze Disability Claims In Indiana

June 16th, 2010 · Delay, General, Medical Impairment

The Indianapolis Star reports that Kia Green, a spokeswoman for Social Security, has stated that Social Security will use computers to perform an “intelligent analysis” of medical records that it receives through the Indiana Network for Patient Care (INPC) that is operated by The Regenstrief Institute. I reported the original press release about what The Regenstrief Institute is doing here. The original press release from Social Security did not mention that as the medical records are transferred from the Indiana Network for Patient Care that SSA’s computers would perform the “intelligent analysis” of the medical records. According to The Indianapolis Star article, if the system deems the information significant, it sends an alert to the decision makers reviewing the file. For example, if the medical file of a patient with end-stage renal disease shows the person is undergoing dialysis, an alert goes out. It would be interesting to see what the computers are searching for, what SSA has determined merits an alert, and what kind of reports the system generates.

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Happy Memorial Day

May 31st, 2010 · General

We wish you a very Happy Memorial Day. Please remember why we have this day as a holiday. On Saturday the 500 festival parade had a float in honor of all veterans and military heroes. The vets on the float seemed to appreciate the standing ovation they received. The crowd rose to its feet each time an American flag went by. Many men remembered to remove their hats. If you see a vet, please remember to thank them for their service to our country.

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Tom S. Ebbinghouse To Teach Lawyers Social Security Disability at Indiana State Bar Association Conference

May 10th, 2010 · General

I will teach attorneys about  Social Security Disability at the Indiana State Bar Association Solo and Small Firm Conference in June. According to the Indiana State Bar Association, this annual conference attracts over 200 attorneys who will have the opportunity to learn from both national and Indiana speakers. You can read the list of seminars that I have Chaired and/or made a presentation to teach lawyers about Social Security Disability here.

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Processing Time for Indianapolis Social Security Disability Hearings Falls Again!

May 3rd, 2010 · Delay, General, Hearings, SSA

The processing time for Indianapolis Social Security Disability Hearings at the Office of Adjudication and Review (ODAR) has fallen again. As reported elsewhere on this site, in November 2009, the number of days from the filing of a Request for Hearing until the case was completed at the hearing site averaged 579 days. In April of 2009, it was 738 days and in June of 2008 it was 896 days. As of March 26, 2010, the number of days from the Request for Hearing for average processing at the Indianapolis ODAR was 534 days. The Indianapolis office now ranks 130 out of 144 hearing offices. Processing time for Evansville Indiana (rank 86) is now at 460 days and Ft. Wayne Indiana (ranked 115) is at 509 days.

If you check in the archives of this site  for the other postings for processing time, you will be able to see the other rankings for past times. Indianapolis has improved so that it no longer hovers in last or next to last place, and it has not for many months now. Be sure you check out the Archives for postings on many different issues connected to a Social Security Disability claim or you are not getting the full benefit from this site!

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Regenstrief Institute to Help Improve SSA Disability Determination

April 1st, 2010 · Delay, General, Medical Impairment, Medical Treatment

Social Security disability cases may be decided faster due to electronic medical records.  Here is the press release:

Regenstrief Institute to help improve disability determination through health information technology

INDIANAPOLIS –- The Regenstrief Institute has been awarded a Recovery Act contract to help the U.S. Social Security Administration and Indiana healthcare providers shorten and improve the process of making disability case determinations through automation. Work is scheduled to begin March 31.

The process of acquiring medical information for an SSA disability claim involves numerous requests to multiple healthcare providers treating the individual seeking disability benefits. This process can take weeks or even months following an application for benefits. Physician offices, hospitals and others health care provider must gather the individual’s recent medical information and submit it via fax or U.S. mail.

The Regenstrief Institute, an international leader in heath information technology, created and operates the Indiana Network for Patient Care (INPC), a secure statewide health information exchange that providers use to help improve the quality, safety and efficiency of care that their patients receive. Improving the disability determination process complements other functions of the INPC, including surveillance for influenza outbreaks and access to a patient’s diverse medical records when providing emergency care.

“We will leverage the capability of the INPC to quickly and efficiently collect the information requested electronically by SSA, with the specific authorization of the person applying for disability benefits, and securely transfer it to the government so the disability decision process can be completed more rapidly. This will make that process more efficient – both because it will be faster and also because the medical data compiled will be more complete. It also will take the time and expense of going to many different providers, assembling the necessary records and filling out forms off the shoulders of patients and decrease the need for providers to search for and send records manually,” said Brian Dixon, MPA, project manager for Regenstrief’s SSA contract.

To effectively make decisions regarding applications for disability, the SSA needs the same kind of medical information that physicians utilize when making diagnoses, treatment, and referral decisions. Healthcare providers in Indiana rely on the INPC to securely and privately share clinical data which is utilized daily to support healthcare services throughout Indiana.

“Facilitating the processing of patients’ disability claims is another example of how healthcare providers throughout Indiana have worked together with the Regenstrief Institute and Indiana Health Information Exchange to ensure that their patients’ healthcare information is used to enhance their care,” said J. Marc Overhage, M.D., Ph.D., director of medical informatics at the Regenstrief Institute, Regenstrief Professor of Medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine, and president and C.E.O. of the Indiana Health Information Exchange.

Disability benefits determination is a large-scale process. The SSA expects to receive more than 3.3 million disability benefits applications in fiscal year 2010, a 27 percent increase over the 2008 fiscal year. Annually, more than 15 million requests for medical records are sent to healthcare providers.

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