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How does Social Security get your medical records when they evaluate your disability claim? This is how it works from beginning to end and I'll present this in defined steps. 1. An applicant for social security disability or SSI fills out a disability application which is submitted to the social security administration, usually to a field office (meaning your local office). 2. The applicant's file is transmitted (we say "transmitted" now, because new files are electronic versus paper) to the state agency that is responsible for rendering medical determinations on SSA (social security administration) disability claims. In most states, this agency will be known as disability determination services, the bureau of disability determination, disability determination unit, or the disability determination division. Regardless of what its called in any given state, it is at this agency where the decision is made on your claim. 3. At the state disability agency, the case is immediately assigned to a disability examiner (I used to be a disability examiner) who immediately after being assigned the file sends out letters to ever medical provider listed by the applicant on their disability application. This includes doctors, hospitals, and clinics. These letters are called MER letters and M.E.R stands for medical evidence of record. 4. After the letters requesting medicals records for the disability case are generated and sent, the applicant's case goes into a "holding pattern" because nothing can be done until the records arrive. After the records arrive (which can take weeks or months because doctors and hospitals are verrrryyyyyy slow about sending records), the disability examiner will do his or her best to get the case decided and closed because disability examiners are evaluated according to how fast they can get cases closed (which can be a little unfair since they have no control over when the records finally make it in). And that's pretty much it in a nutshell. 
Social Security Disability and SSI Disability Information
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