SSA to use health network to evaluate disability claims
The Social Security Administration will begin using the Nationwide
Health Information Network in early 2009 to evaluate disability claims,
according to an agency announcement released Dec. 16.
NHIN is
designed to connect providers, consumers and others involved in health
care. SSA will use the network to receive medical records for some
disability applicants. The records help SSA officials determine how
many of the 2.6 million annual disability applicants should receive
assistance. Agency officials hope NHIN will reduce the time it takes to
make an eligibility decision.
“This safe and secure method for
receiving electronic medical records will allow us to improve our
service to the public by cutting days, if not weeks, off the time it
takes to make a disability decision,” said SSA Commissioner Michael
Astrue.
NHIN should also make it less labor-intensive for medical workers to submit records.
SSA
is working with MedVirginia, the North Carolina Healthcare Information
and Communications Alliance, and Kaiser Permanente to implement NHIN.
The
network is part of a Health and Human Services Department initiative
that multiple government agencies and private-sector entities support.
About the Author
Doug Beizer is a staff writer for Federal Computer Week.