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LUPUS FOUNDATION OF AMERICA

Dr. Art Weinstein and Priscilla Chatman, JD, Vice President for Government and Public Policy, Lupus Foundation of America, Inc., presented a workshop on "Getting Social Security Disability for Persons Disabled by Lupus and other Immune System Disorders" to the National Organization of Social Security Claimant Representatives. Social Security disability regulations were incorporated into the presentation of lupus the disease and how it can be debilitating.

Dr. Weinstein also explained the "real world of doctors" to real lawyers; that is, most physicians will not write the type of detailed report that the lawyer and the SS Administration want. Dr. Weinstein added that doctors don't have the time to review hundreds of pages of a chart, nor are they paid to do this. Ms. Chatman discussed bridging the gap between the doctors and lawyers to help the lupus patient who is applying for disability.

A few ways were discussed as to how to overcome these challenges.

• Lawyers can send the physician a questionnaire that pointedly asks for the information Social Security (SS) needs. Physicians don't know what SS needs. This will take the doctors less time to fill out.
• Lawyers can pay the doctor for the reasonable cost of his or her time. This is legal, although most lawyers don't do it. They may not realize this would get them a more rapid and a more thorough response.
• The patient should go to the doctor for an office visit and ask him or her to complete the form. This gives the physician an opportunity for reimbursement, and it also makes the physician more likely to write a quick and thorough report.
• The physicians can refer the lupus patient to a physician who specializes in rehabilitative medicine. This doctor will then get paid for a regular office visit. That specialist will then write up a complete report as specialist always do for the referring doctor. That report will have the much needed information on physical limitations because rehabilitative physicians specialized in this.

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