record #s on disability

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jonnylingo

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(CNSNews.com) - "The total number of disability beneficiaries in the United States rose from 10,981,423 in March to 10,996,447 in April, setting a new all-time record, according to newly released data from the Social Security Administration.
The number of Americans receiving disability benefits continues to exceed the populations of Greece, Tunisia and Portugal"



What pains me the most (pardon the bad pun), is that there were 10,996,447 physician signatures that allowed for this.

Of course there are those who truly qualify...as rare as hen's teeth though, in my opinion. I have one C6 tetraplegic who, despite his condition that includes chronic neuropathic pain, is thriving in a high-level academic position. There are others just as stoic.

I get a fibro patient every few days saying "I need you to sign some papers". My usual line more or less is "Gainful employment is part of your pain rehabilitation".

Thoughts?

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(CNSNews.com) - "The total number of disability beneficiaries in the United States rose from 10,981,423 in March to 10,996,447 in April, setting a new all-time record, according to newly released data from the Social Security Administration.
The number of Americans receiving disability benefits continues to exceed the populations of Greece, Tunisia and Portugal"



What pains me the most (pardon the bad pun), is that there were 10,996,447 physician signatures that allowed for this.

Of course there are those who truly qualify...as rare as hen's teeth though, in my opinion. I have one C6 tetraplegic who, despite his condition that includes chronic neuropathic pain, is thriving in a high-level academic position. There are others just as stoic.

I get a fibro patient every few days saying "I need you to sign some papers". My usual line more or less is "Gainful employment is part of your pain rehabilitation".

Thoughts?

Agreed. One of my missions in life in this field is to help stop the disability abuse. I know one girl, in her 20's for example, who has migraines and somehow because of that is now on disability. I'm disgusted.
 
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NPR had a great story last year on how the Federal Disability system has taken over as the welfare system. States have gotten people off of their welfare roles by hiring lawyers to get people on Federal Disability.

There was also another report that the SS Disability program will be insolvent in ~5 years.
 
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Me: I see you are on disability.
Patient: Yes
Me: For whatreason? What diagnosis?
Patient: I don't know.

I can't tell you how many times that has happened.
 
some of my patients who are only mildly disabled - ie: back pain when standing for more than 4 hours - are pissed as hell that they can't get on disability insurance, because they have a neighbor who is 21 who is on disability for ADHD.... i love when the pseudo-disabled are mad at each other.
 
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I find when they dont know, it's cause they are not sure if was approved as a result of their FMS, IBS, TMJ, EBV, or CFS.
 
I find when they dont know, it's cause they are not sure if was approved as a result of their FMS, IBS, TMJ, EBV, or CFS.

true.

i just had one today for a "sleep apnea". no other diagnosis. 35 y/o
 
some of my patients who are only mildly disabled - ie: back pain when standing for more than 4 hours - are pissed as hell that they can't get on disability insurance, because they have a neighbor who is 21 who is on disability for ADHD.... i love when the pseudo-disabled are mad at each other.

ADHD should never be a reason for disability. I had a patient come in for an intake claiming disability with ADD as one of the diagnoses. She was requesting a refill of her Adderall. I informed her that Adderall wasn't necessary since she wasn't working, as the sole function of Adderall was to help her through work / school. The way I was trained - patient isn't working full time or in school, then they do not get stimulants.
 
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What pains me the most (pardon the bad pun), is that there were 10,996,447 physician signatures that allowed for this.
I have yet to endorse a single pt for disability. But I don't blame physicians for doing so, even in the ridiculous cases. Physicians are placed in the impossible position of treating a pt with one eye and guarding tax-payer dollars with the other and, with the third eye, making sure no one is selling narcs. The govt needs to find another way to stop the fraud and crime and not put it on our shoulders.
 
Agreed. One of my missions in life in this field is to help stop the disability abuse. I know one girl, in her 20's for example, who has migraines and somehow because of that is now on disability. I'm disgusted.
Guess you never had a migraine
 
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What pains me the most (pardon the bad pun), is that there were 10,996,447 physician signatures that allowed for this.

Thoughts?

For social security disability this isn't true. A treating physician doesn't decide if a patient gets disability or not, a Disability Determining Service does. This is a goverment run entity and there is a whole convuluted process that someone must go through to be approved or denied disability benefits. There are a number of factors that go into determing if someone receives benefits or not: medical records, age, prior work experience, level of education, and others. These factors are placed into a formula that determines if the person is approved or denied. The biggest factor that influences disability determination by a treating physician is the physical exam, and objective findings. As exams have become more templated they are becoming less pertinent, often reducing the chances of disability. I haven't dug into the numbers but I would be curious as to if the actual percentage of people has increased, or is this expected wtih baby boomers, etc.
 
They know. It's almost always a psych diagnosis. Usually bipolar.

unfortunately this is true. Psychiatrists(and are mh system in general) are one of the biggest offenders out there now and one of the biggest reasons for the current explosion. It needs to be completely revamped from top to bottom.
 
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