We are happy to help with FMLA paperwork and reasonable accommodations for employment or housing if your condition meets the criteria for it. These requests are done during appointments.
While we as a practice are supportive of individuals who wish to pursue disability support via SSI/ SSDI or long-term disability insurance, there are limitations on the support we can provide on the basis of our expertise and training.
We do not complete statements at the request of attorneys or long-term disability insurance companies to comment on how your conditions affect your ability to work or provide functional capacity assessments.
These types of requests typically require specialized training and carry specific legal liabilities, which fall outside the scope of services generally offered by primary care providers. Additionally, these assessments often place healthcare providers in a position which undermines the therapeutic relationship if your exam findings, diagnostic imaging, and other assessments do not meet the legal definition of disability. We acknowledge the legal definition of disability often falls short of the lived experience of disabled and chronically ill individuals to obtain gainful employment in the current job market.
Functional capacity assessments or other documentation for disability requires a healthcare provider to comment specifically on things like how much weight you can lift and how many times per hour, how many times per hour you can bend, lift, squat, stoop, reach etc per, how many hand manipulations you can perform with each hand per hour, what percentage of your day you are able to stay on task, how many breaks of what duration you require, if you have the ability to follow commands/directions, your capacity to interact with other employees or the public, and other information that we do not have the training to address.
You can consider engaging with a vocational rehabilitation center, as these provide services free of charge and the first step in such a process is an assessment of your work capacity, though these assessments may not always be sufficient for all legal purposes. You can reach out to the Vocational Rehabilitation - Vancouver Office, 800 NE 136th Ave Suite 230 Vancouver, WA 98684, phone (360) 397-9961 or email DVRVancouverReferral@dshs.wa.gov if you live in Washington. For patients in Oregon use the Oregon Vocational Rehabilitation Office Finder here: https://www.oregon.gov/odhs/vr/Pages/clients.aspx
We are happy to provide chart notes, problem list, and medication list free of charge with a signed release of information to assist you and your attorney in a disability case. We also are happy to help clarify your diagnoses as much as we can to get the most accurate information for your health and supporting your case appropriately.
Thank you for your understanding, and we remain committed to supporting our patients in ways that are clinically appropriate.
Warm regards,
Lavender Spectrum Health
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