Last Updated on June 22, 2010
Doctors are funny creatures. Administrative matters are often distasteful; yet, most doctors recognize that it is a necessary evil as part of the general practice of medicine. Doctors often act arrogantly; yet, their arrogance is often in reaction to questions and statements which they deem to be irrelevant or insolent. In filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS & CSRS, it is obviously important to get the active, affirmative support of a treating doctor. How does one go about doing this? It is ultimately up the patient. Remember — we are speaking about a “treating doctor” — not a stranger, but a person who, normally over the course of many years, has come to know, evaluate and treat the potential applicant who is filing for OPM Disability Retirement benefits. Over the years, therefore, hopefully a relationship has grown to fruition. Asking the treating doctor to support you in a Federal Disability Retirement application — or, if an attorney is hired, to let the doctor know that his or her legal representative will be requesting a medical report — should be the culmination of that special relationship which has developed: the doctor-patient relationship, one which has grown over the many years of contact, discussion, conversation, and treatment.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire