1997 PB Disability and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, V. 3, No. 4)

Because of the individual and varying symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, medical guidelines encompassing the needs of every patient simply do not exist. Through proven research and recommendations for future treatment, Disability and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Clinical, Legal, and Patient Perspectives discusses the difficult subject of how to diagnose disability in chronic fatigue syndrome patients, how to determine the severity of a patient’s disability, and how new disability guidelines would make more chronic fatigue patients eligible to apply for disability benefits. From this information, you will gain a clearer understanding of chronic fatigue syndrome, enabling you to more accurately assess a patient’s condition or decide if your client is eligible for disability benefits. Essential for clinicians, lawyers, patients, and medical insurers, Disability and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome provides an outline of disability guidelines established by the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Veterans’Administration, and the American Medical Association, as well as federal guidelines. While gaining information on the different types of disability insurance available to chronic fatigue patients, such as the Long Term Disability (LTD) policy, you will also learn how standard procedures such as psychiatric evaluation, neuropsychological testing, and physical capacity measurement can both help and hinder the process of determining disability in a patient. In addition, Disability and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome provides insight into:

• the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, such as inability to work and level of stamina, in accordance with medical and legal definitions
• disability guidelines set by the SSA
• how patients’varying symptoms and conflicting findings affect disability diagnosis in chronic fatigue syndrome patients by SSA standards
• plans by the Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) Association of America to work with the SSA concerning strategies to dissolve barriers to Social Security Disability Income Benefits for patients and to advocate for up-to-date information on CFIDS in the SSA’s Listing of Impairments.
• tips on applying for SSA benefits
• claims that insurance companies have used misleading surveillance videos and fraud to discontinue disability benefits to patients in need of coverage Since the Social Security Administration does not currently consider a CFIDS diagnosis enough to win a disability claim, Disability and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome also contains many recommendations for improving federal disability guidelines, such as using results from functional evaluations, neuropsychological testing, and exercise endurance testing as evidence of impairment. For less severe cases, this book provides you with suggestions for rehabilitation of CFS patients before disability claims are made, including patient training and education, dependency counseling, muscular conditioning, and occupational therapy. Whether you are a patient, clinician, lawyer, or medical insurer, Disability and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome will guide you through the complex issues surrounding disability and this intricate disease.

Nancy G. Klimas, Roberto Patarca