Good morning everyone! I am wondering how long it takes from the physical exam to when I will find out any results? Will SSDI let me know anything or do I need to ask my rep? The doc I saw said that I should be seeing a psych doc too for SSDI since I have so many dx's that involve chronic pain. How long should it take for them to send me to a psych doc? Sorry for all the questions but I am not a very patient person and I feel so out of control right now. On top of all the SSDI stuff I have to deal with WC too.
Thanks in advance,
Hobbles

FYI -

My neighbor and his friend both went into the appointment so that the friend could be a witness to the evaluation (just in case the doc did a poor job/quick & dirty type job) in the evaluation. That proved to be important since the evaluating doc did a horrible/quick job to make his decisions.

Fortunately, the SSDI folks read the friends observations and an accurate evaluation was completed within a few weeks. That evaluation lasted 20 minutes.

He received his SSDI a few months later and his back-pay within three months.

-Vic

Do you see a psych doc on your own ? If those records are sufficient, you might not need to see an SSA psych.

I never got the results of any of the examinations that SSA sent me to. My wife went with me to both exams and filled out the paperwork for me because I was so nervous I couldn't write. I did ask my attorney about the exam results but never got an answer. I just went to the exams, was honest and very cooperative with the doctors. A month later I was awarded SSDI benefits. If I were you I wouldn't worry too much about the results of these exams as I have heard that they do not really matter that much when the final decision is made.

Hopefully I can help narrow down a timeframe for you, but please understand that my numbers are only based on my own experience with cases in my own state. Since doctors and procedures vary from state to state, please take my comments with a grain of salt.

In my general experience, once the claimant has gone to his or her exam, the exam doctor has about 3 weeks to send a report to us. Some doctors send reports same-day (rare but it happens)...more likely doctors will send them in 2-3 weeks. This is because the exams are sometimes done in batches...they'll take a couple days to write up all the exams they've done for, say, a week period, and send them all at once. So the wait time can fluctuate.

Your examiner will get the exam, review it, and will likely send it for a medical review with one of the agency doctors (in my office, NOT the one who did the actual exam). Depending on the complexity of your case, this may take the doctor another 2 weeks to fully review (he or she will be looking at the entire case, not just the recent exam) and make their recommendation. If all goes well and they don't need any additional information from you or the doctor, the case can be closed after that.

So, to sum up, anywhere from 2 weeks to a month or two, in my experience. If there is a lot of extra info needed it may take longer. I'd urge you to call your examiner for updates! He or she can not give you a deadline (they can't predict when the doctor will be finished reviewing the case, or if he or she needs more info) but they might be able to give you a better estimate of how things are going in their office. You can ask if they have received the report in, or a general time they might expect it by, or something like that. Examiners are there to help you by making an accurate and timely decision on your claim, and it is your life - so be involved! We are here to help!

I hope this gives you at least a general outline of things to come. Your case may vary as obviously I don't know any specifics of your situation.