Disability Claims Process Video Series. What kinds of disorders do we consider in the digestive system? Disorders of the digestive system include gastrointestinal hemorrhage, hepatic liver dysfunction, inflammatory bowel disease, short bowel syndrome, and malnutrition. They may also lead to complications, such as obstruction, or be accompanied by manifestations in other body systems. What documentation do we need?
We need a record of your medical evidence, including clinical and laboratory findings. The documentation should include appropriate medically acceptable imaging studies and reports of endoscopy, operations, and pathology, as appropriate to each listing, to document the severity and duration of your digestive disorder. Medically acceptable imaging includes, but is not limited to, x-ray imaging, sonography, computerized axial tomography CAT scan , magnetic resonance imaging MRI , and radionuclide scans.
Appropriate means that the technique used is the proper one to support the evaluation and diagnosis of the disorder. The findings required by these listings must occur within the period we are considering in connection with your application or continuing disability review. How do we consider the effects of treatment? Digestive disorders frequently respond to medical or surgical treatment; therefore, we generally consider the severity and duration of these disorders within the context of prescribed treatment.
We assess the effects of treatment, including medication, therapy, surgery, or any other form of treatment you receive, by determining if there are improvements in the symptoms, signs, and laboratory findings of your digestive disorder. We also assess any side effects of your treatment that may further limit your functioning. To assess the effects of your treatment, we may need information about:. The treatment you have been prescribed for example, the type of medication or therapy, or your use of parenteral intravenous nutrition or supplemental enteral nutrition via a gastrostomy ;.
When adverse effects of treatment contribute to the severity of your impairment s , we will consider the duration or expected duration of the treatment when we assess the duration of your impairment s.
