Documenting Disability for Persons with Substance Use Disorders & Co-occurring Impairments: A Guide for Clinicians (NHCHC, Janua

The National Health Care for the Homeless Council is pleased to announce a new publication by the Health Care for the Homeless Clinicians' Network -

The National Health Care for the Homeless Council is pleased to announce a new publication by the Health Care for the Homeless Clinicians' Network - Documenting Disability for Persons with Substance Use Disorders & Co-occurring Impairments: A Guide for Clinicians (January 2007) -  which is now available on our website: http://www.nhchc.org/bibliograpy/documenting-disability-for-persons-with-substance-use-disorders-and-co-occurring-impairments-a-guide-for-clinicians/.  Pdf version is attached.  

This guide was written to assure that individuals with substance use disorders and co-occurring impairments that meet Social Security disability criteria receive Federal disability benefits under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program or the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program. The guide provides practical tips that medical providers and others who assist with the documentation of disability can use to expedite SSI/SSDI benefits for individuals with co-occurring impairments.  Special emphasis is placed on the importance of assisting homeless applicants, who are more likely than individuals with stable housing to be denied benefits for procedural rather than medical reasons. This document is intended as a supplement to Documenting Disability: Simple Strategies for Medical Providers (O’Connell et al. 2004) -

Readers are referred to the 2004 manual for an explanation of SSA disability criteria, the 5-step disability determination process, and general guidance for medical providers regarding the documentation of medical and functional impairments. The 2007 supplement focuses in more detail on the complex issues involved in documenting impairments that co-occur with substance use disorders.These and other Resources on Disability are available online at: http://www.nhchc.org/