Last Updated on August 23, 2014 by FERS Disability Attorney
OPM Standard Form 3112C: Physician’s Statement:
Forms tend to intimidate; the more official the appearance, the greater heightening of anxiety in close encounters of this kind. Beyond the alien look of some forms (for those who have already identified the two references to Steven Spielberg’s 1977 Science Fiction film, you have revealed what generation you are from), the size of the font, the extent of warnings issued (i.e., “Privacy Act and Public Burden Statements”, etc.), and most importantly, the cogency and clarity of understanding for a third-party being requested to provide valuable and necessary information on behalf of a patient — these are all important considerations to entertain.
In this busy world, where doctors must wear multiple hats — of administrative overloads, compliance with billing requirements in Medicare, Medicaid, and numerous other government portals, etc.; of earning sufficient income in order to pay staff, salaries and practice expenses; of ensuring privacy protections; and, finally, beyond all of the headaches associated with running a medical practice — of actually engaging in patient care becomes almost a secondary issue. Time is limited; time is a commodity of invaluable substance; time is a restrictive resource when the exhaustion of the modern world impinges upon the daily necessity of making a living.
And so the Federal or Postal Worker who is filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits hands, sends, or faxes a government form, demanding that a doctor complete another issuance of what can only be kindly termed as a nuisance or a headache. The normal response of the treating doctor is to procrastinate, ignore, or, worse yet, to put together a bundle of treatment records and send them off.
OPM Form 3112C, the so-called Physician’s Statement, is the crucial linchpin of a Federal Disability Retirement application; yet, the form itself is an intimidating venue which can predispose a Federal Disability Retirement application to a preview of failure. Are there alternatives? SF 3112C itself is put forth as if it is a necessary prerequisite in the entire process of filing for Federal Disability Retirement. The answer can be found in another form — SF 3112E — where it clearly states: Attach SF 3112C, Physician’s Statement (or its equivalent).
It is the equivalency which is the key to a successful Federal Disability Retirement application, for the Federal Employee on long-term sick leave (SL) or the injured Postal worker who is preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, whether one is under FERS or CSRS, through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Equivalencies matter, and what constitutes such “equal-ness” in acceptable form, is the key to a successful Federal Disability Retirement application.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire