Social Security disability claims process may speed up

by Robin Erb
Free Press Medical Writer

June 7, 2010: A $3-million grant from the U.S. Social Security Administration may speed up Social Security disability claims for Michigan residents — a process that now can take more than a year.

With the funds, the Southeast Michigan Health Information Exchange and several vendors will establish a system that will allow the transfer of a patient's medical records through Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN). The work will start with Henry Ford Health and Oakwood Healthcare systems, but the technology eventually would be transferred to other hospitals, said Dr. Robert Jackson, M.D., chairman of the SMHIE.

Processing Social Security disability claims under the current system “is a lot of paper moving back and forth.” Additionally, different health care systems use different diagnostic codes, Jackson said.

The $3-million grant was the largest of 15 electronic records grants from Social Security totaling $17.4 million. They are American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds.

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