I also found this last night. There is a new computer program out there called Surescripts. The VA and other medical facilities is already deep into trying this program. What it does is give any doctor anywhere in the country access to all your medical history. All your records, lab reports, x-rays and prescriptions would be just a few clicks away. Me being from Alabama for instance, if I went to California on a trip and I had an accident requiring emergency medical treatment. The ER doctors would simply log onto this program. They would have immediate access to everything ever written about me medically.
Do you realize what this could mean for SSDI claims if the SSA would install it in their system? They would have everything they needed right there in front of them in a few seconds to make a dicision. They wouldn't have to wait for days, weeks or months to gather your records. They wouldn't have to pay god knows how much to some strange doctor who knows nothing about your medical history for a physical. They could look at this info and base their decision on what your own doctor says. They could look at all your medical problems and not just one. These decisions could be made at field offices by trained case workers instead of sending everything from office to office and loosing half the documents along the way. And most important, a decision could be made in days or weeks verses the months or years it now takes. This would put an end to all the pain and suffering that a claimant has to endure now. This would also stop bogus claims. If someone went into a SSA office and said that they can no longer work for what ever reason, the case worker could look at there medical records right then and see there is nothing in there about whatever reason. Then the case worker could tell the claimant in a nice way, I'm sorry but there are no medical documents to back up your claim and it would be over. I think the federal government should force the SSA to use this program in their decision making process.
Here is a link to the article if you want to read it.

http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/hea...-records_N.htm