I recently ran across a very useful disability blog called "Disability Doc," published by a medical doctor named Keith Holden.  Dr. Holden has extensive experience in the Social Security world, having been involved in training State Agency adjudicators and consultants.

I find this site especially helpful in its discussions of the medical listings published by Social Security disability.   Cases that clearly meet the listings are often approved early – the ones that don’t meet a listing end up in front of a judge where we argue for disability under a "functional capacity" theory or under a "grid" theory.

If your case meets a listing, you can avoid the two year delays and the hassle of filing appeals and endless paperwork.  Dr. Holden’s discussion of the listings helps demystify the complicated medical jargon found in the actual text of the listings themselves.

Compare for example the actual listing for chronic heart failure in the listings with Dr. Holden’s explanation of chronic heart failure.  You will see that the Disability Doc’s explanation contains definitions of medical terms, it describes the symptoms and it describes the tests needed to prove that you meet this listing. 

It appears that Dr. Holden is adding pages about various listings over time. Right now, he has explanations of several of the most commonly seen listings, including cardiovascular disease, genitourinary diseases, Down’s Syndrome, some cancers and some musculoskeletal problems, blood disorders. 

Realize that most physicians are focused on treating you, not on issuing narrative reports that track Social Security listings.  I think that you will find the articles and discussions on the Disability Doc’s web site very useful in helping you understand the Social Security listings and other Social Security issues from an insider’s perspective.

[tags] disability doc, Dr. Keith Holden, Social Security listings [/tags]