Automatic health record review to help prioritize gravely ill Social Security disability applicants.

Journal: Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA
Published Date:

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Every year, thousands of patients die waiting for disability benefits from the Social Security Administration. Some qualify for expedited service under the Compassionate Allowance (CAL) initiative, but CAL software focuses exclusively on information from a single form field. This paper describes the development of a supplemental process for identifying some overlooked but gravely ill applicants, through automatic annotation of health records accompanying new claims. We explore improved prioritization instead of fully autonomous claims approval.

Authors

  • Kenneth Abbott
    Minnesota Disability Determination Services, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA.
  • Yen-Yi Ho
    Department of Statistics, College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
  • Jennifer Erickson
    Minnesota Disability Determination Services, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA.