What is a "Medically
Determinable Impairment"?
A medically determinable physical or mental impairment is an impairment that results from anatomical, physiological, or psychological abnormalities which can be shown by medically acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques. A physical or mental impairment must be established by medical evidence consisting of signs, symptoms, and laboratory findings-not only by your statement of symptoms.
A treating source is your own physician, psychologist, or other acceptable medical source that has provided you with medical treatment or evaluation and has or has had an ongoing treatment relationship with you. The treating source is usually the best source of medical evidence about the nature and severity of an impairment.
If an additional examination or testing is needed, SSA usually considers a treating source to be the preferred source for performing the examination or test for his or her own patient.
The treating source is neither asked nor expected to make a decision whether the claimant is disabled. However, a treating source will usually be asked to provide a statement about your ability, despite your impairments, to do work-related physical or mental activities. In the absence of sufficient medical evidence from your own medical sources, SSA, may request an additional examination(s). These examinations, called CEs, are performed by physicians (medical or osteopathic physicians), psychologists or, in certain circumstances, other health professionals. All CE sources must be currently licensed in the State and have the training and experience to perform the type of examination or test SSA requests.
Health professionals play a vital role in the disability determination process and participate in the process in a variety of ways:
- As treating sources or other medical sources who provide medical evidence on behalf of their patients;
- As CE sources to perform, for a fee, examinations and/or tests that are needed;
- As full-time or part-time medical or psychological consultants reviewing claims in a DDS, in one of SSA's regional offices, or in SSA central office; or
- As medical experts who testify at administrative law judge hearings.
