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    We Represent People With:

  • Physical Disabilities and Impairments, Psychiatric and Mental Disorders, Bipolar, PTSD, Deafness, Blindness, HIV/Aids, Cancer, Epilepsy, Schizophrenia, Depression, Mental Retardation, Cerebral palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Diabetes, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Herniated Disk, Fibromyalgia, Lupus, Arthritis, Stroke, Seizures, Hepatitis, Heart and Lung disease, Meniere's Disease, Crohn's Disease, Colitis, L.B.S., Myasthenia Gravis, Severe Headaches and Sleep Disorders, Amputation, Vocational Disabilities, MRSA who have wrongfully been denied their benefits.
Home :: FAQ :: Physicians Issues

Am I, the Patient’s treating physician qualified to complete a Residual Functional Capacity form for my patient? Don’t I need to send the patient out for a Functional Capacity Evaluation?

The Social Security Administration (SSA) recognizes that Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCES) are costly and can reflect the bias of the technician who is not a medical doctor.  As a consequence, the SSA puts great faith in the ability of treating physicians  to determine the reasonable limitations on the Claimant’s ability to sit, stand, walk, reach, bend etc. based on the consistency of the patient’s clinical presentation and objective medical evidence of record.

The SSA actually encourages the patient’s treating physicians to complete Questionnaires that address Residual Physical and Mental Functional Capacity and will send such questionnaires out to treating physicians to complete.  There are no special training or courses or outside source requirements to complete these forms.  ALL that is necessary is just an honest knowledge of the patient and desire to provide a reasonable medical opinion as to the patient’s limitations.  An Administrative Law Judge will consider the limitations along with all the other evidence in the claimant’s file.  In order to make an Administrative determination of disability that will be based on the Claimant’s medical diagnosis, residual physical and/or mental capacities, and a determination that is based on all the above,  the claimant is unable to perform work that exists in sufficient numbers in the National Economy.  Thus, “Disability” is ultimately a Vocational issue that is applied to the medical evidence and opinions of record.  If based on the claimant’s age, education, transferrable job skills and ability to read and write the English language and residual functional capacity there are no such jobs available in the National economy in sufficient numbers to accommodate the claimant with his or her limitations, the claimant is considered disabled pursuant to Social Security Disability Guidelines.  So one can see how helpful the conscientious completion of an RFC form by a treating physician truly is.