What is the Social Security Consultative Exam For?

If you have filed for a claim of social security disability and have made it through the initial claims process and had your claim move on to the state disability examiner to determine whether you are eligible for benefits, you may have been asked to sit with a doctor for what is called a consultative examination.  A consultative examination is an examination with a physician who is working for the Social Security administration in order to independently verify the symptoms and other facts of your disability illness or injury so that your claim can be affirmed or denied, and so that the SSA is confident that your disability is in fact legitimate.

Getting a Consultative Exam

It is important to note that a consultative examination is typically requested by the state disability examiner if the information in your supplied medical history from your own personal doctor is determined to be incomplete or insufficient for the Social Security Administration to make a determination of benefits eligibility. 

• The consultative examination is essentially the SSA’s wanting to see with their own eyes what the extent and nature of your disability is, and whether or not their doctor feels that you are truly disabled enough to receive benefits. 
• Consultative examinations may also result if you are using a doctor who is not a specialist in the field in which your injury lies.

Problems with the Consultative Exam

Consultative examinations have a reputation for not always being thorough and complete.  In many cases, if your illness does not have immediately obvious symptoms, you may be denied disability based on the consultative examination results because it may seem to the doctor that you are healthy enough to work and that you do not have a legitimate Social Security Disability claim.  The doctor will ask you questions about your medical history and your symptoms, and perform a physical or other tests to see if your disability is considered sufficient to receive benefits.

There is a little known fact that you may be able to petition to have your own physician perform the consultative examination, which may help your case if you feel that you have subjective symptoms, such as chronic fatigue or other symptoms that are not physically visible to the naked eye.  If your doctor agrees to perform the consultative examination, you can fill out the paperwork and have him examine you instead of the state disability examiner’s doctor.  Your primary physician is always considered to be the most reliable source of information about your disability, so this may be an excellent way to help strengthen your case.

Getting Help

If the social security administration has requested that you take a consultative exam, you should consult with an experienced disability rights attorney as soon as possible. Your attorney can provide you with detailed information for preparing for the Social Security consultative examination process and can help you to make a case to the SSA that you are in fact disabled and entitled to benefits.