Tips From Paula: Obtaining Medical Records for Disability Claims

I have been very busy this summer working on our customers’ disability claims! One recurring issue I have come across is obtaining medical records for the insurance companies’ review.

Most large medical practices now “outsource” their medical records distribution to a third party.  These third parties usually want payment for their time and resources.  The process can be extremely time consuming, often resulting in long delays before claimants will receive their disability checks.

The process begins with the insurance company sending a request for records to the physician’s office, who in turn, sends the request to their third party medical records company.  That company then sends a payment request to the insurance company, who must cut a check and mail it back to them before the records can be pulled and mailed.

This whole process can take up to 3 or 4 weeks, depending on how quickly each responsible party turns the requests around.  Patients often don’t understand the delays, and will many times complain to the insurance company, when, in reality, it’s the process itself that is causing the delay.

I am here to help facilitate and track the requests, but patients should know the process ahead of time, and anticipate some delay in the medical records distribution.

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