OBJECTIVES: Disability determinations made by the Disability Determination Service for Social Security Administration (SSA) disability claims due to mental impairment were compared with the independent judgments of a team of mental health workers. The decisions of the Service and the team's agreement with those decisions were predicted from a set of explanatory variables. METHODS: One hundred fifty-eight adult applicants for or beneficiaries of SSA benefit programs participated. The team used SSA disability criteria to judge disability based on in-depth interviews. RESULTS: Team members voted yes, no, or maybe regarding approval for disability. Of the cases approved by the team, 89% were actually allowed by the Disability Determination Service. However, the team could not reach a yes or no decision for almost half of the subjects, contributing to a total agreement with the Service on only 40% of the cases. CONCLUSIONS: Sufficient evidence exists to question the reliability of SSA disability determinations for mental disorders. Although the Disability Determination Service decision for mental impairments can be predicted above chance, a direct test of the reliability of such determinations should be conducted, with particular attention to the effect of the quality of the medical information.
OBJECTIVES: Disability determinations made by the Disability Determination Service for Social Security Administration (SSA) disability claims due to mental impairment were compared with the independent judgments of a team of mental health workers. The decisions of the Service and the team's agreement with those decisions were predicted from a set of explanatory variables. METHODS: One hundred fifty-eight adult applicants for or beneficiaries of SSA benefit programs participated. The team used SSA disability criteria to judge disability based on in-depth interviews. RESULTS: Team members voted yes, no, or maybe regarding approval for disability. Of the cases approved by the team, 89% were actually allowed by the Disability Determination Service. However, the team could not reach a yes or no decision for almost half of the subjects, contributing to a total agreement with the Service on only 40% of the cases. CONCLUSIONS: Sufficient evidence exists to question the reliability of SSA disability determinations for mental disorders. Although the Disability Determination Service decision for mental impairments can be predicted above chance, a direct test of the reliability of such determinations should be conducted, with particular attention to the effect of the quality of the medical information.
Authors: Elizabeth E Marfeo; Stephen M Haley; Alan M Jette; Susan V Eisen; Pengsheng Ni; Kara Bogusz; Mark Meterko; Christine M McDonough; Leighton Chan; Diane E Brandt; Elizabeth K Rasch Journal: Arch Phys Med Rehabil Date: 2013-03-30 Impact factor: 3.966
Authors: Monica Bachmann; Wout de Boer; Stefan Schandelmaier; Andrea Leibold; Renato Marelli; Joerg Jeger; Ulrike Hoffmann-Richter; Ralph Mager; Heinz Schaad; Thomas Zumbrunn; Nicole Vogel; Oskar Bänziger; Jason W Busse; Katrin Fischer; Regina Kunz Journal: BMC Psychiatry Date: 2016-07-29 Impact factor: 3.630
Authors: Jürgen Barth; Wout E L de Boer; Jason W Busse; Jan L Hoving; Sarah Kedzia; Rachel Couban; Katrin Fischer; David Y von Allmen; Jerry Spanjer; Regina Kunz Journal: BMJ Date: 2017-01-25