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What To Do If You Are Asked To Take A Consultative Exam

How To Protect Yourself Whether You See Your Own Or The Insurance Company's Doctor

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Whether your own doctor or the insurance company's examines you, you can take steps to protect yourself and improve your chances of getting your claim approved. Keep in mind that your benefits claim may depend on the outcome of this exam.

  • Before the exam, call the doctor's office and ask if you can bring a friend or family member and/or record the exam.
    • If the doctor permits, ask a friend or family member to with you as a witness. Ask the other person to take notes during the exam about:
      • What was asked and how you responded.
      • What tests were done, and the results.
      • As a back-up, record the entire exam. The odds are you can record on your smart phone. If not, recording devices are inexpensive.
    • If the doctor refuses to permit a witness and/or recording, see the next section below.
  • Prepare for the meeting by reviewing:
    • The history of your symptoms.
    • The impact of each symptom on your ability to work and on activities of daily living. Be specific. For example, rather than note that a symptom such as muscle weakness kept you from doing your work, note that the symptom kept you from lifting the boxes that are an integral part of your job.
    • A good place to look for notes on this subject is your symptoms diary if you have one.
  • Talk over with a close friend or family member what he or she has noticed about your symptoms and how they have affected your work and/or daily life. Often, in discussing your history with another person, the person or you will think of statements and occurrences you had forgotten about.
  • Don't downplay your symptoms. One person we know of wants to be liked so much that he downplays his symptoms when he speaks with his doctors. This is self-defeating, particularly when it comes to a determination of whether you are entitled to disability benefits.
  • On the other hand, don't exaggerate your symptoms. If you suddenly have unprovable symptoms, it may cast doubt on the reality of statements made when you applied for your disability benefit.
  • If lab tests are done, insist they be read by the same lab that your doctor used before. Different labs can have different results, even with the same tests.
  • As soon as you can after walking out of the exam room, review the notes and/or tape to make sure they are complete and to add your own observations. If you left something out, or feel you need to clarify something that was said, do so immediately either by returning to the office or calling/faxing/e-mailing.

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