What Is a Medically Determinable Impairment for SSDI?

Before you can qualify for Social Security disability benefits, you will have to prove that you have a medically determinable physical or mental impairment that is severe enough as well as chronic, and prevents you from working. (For a child, the impairment must be severe enough to cause marked and severe functional limitations.)

Medically Determinable Impairments

A medically determinable impairment is defined by the Social Security Administration (SSA) as “an impairment that results from anatomical, physiological, or psychological abnormalities, which can be shown by medically acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques.” The SSA will not approve disablity payments based on symptoms alone, without confirmation by clinical or laboratory findings.

Physiological impairments are conditions that are causing harm to you physically, such as muscle problems, cancer, HIV, heart disease, and so on. Psychological impairments are those conditions causing harm to your mental health such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, etc. 

The Process for Determining Whether an Impairment Is Disabling

The SSA will not simply take an individual's word for it about his or her medical condition. They will need to see medical evidence of a physiological (physical) or psychological (mental) impairment that reveals signs, symptoms, and laboratory findings associated with the claim.

Most claims are initially processed through local Social Security field offices, and then state agencies, better known as DDS, or disability determination services, make the disability determination. The claims examiners at the DDS want to see a medical record with solid medical evidence documenting the condition. A complete, current medical record with enough information to make a clear decision can speed up the application process.