Evidence of a claimant's functional limitations is “sufficient” to permit an assessment of impairment severity when it is both consistent and complete
enough to evaluate and assess the functional areas contained in the paragraph B and/or
paragraph C criteria. When there is enough evidence, the reviewer should be able to
positively answer the following: “Is there enough evidence to picture the claimant functioning on a day-to-day basis?” Or, “Despite a disparate array of sometimes seemingly unrelated pieces of evidence, does
the evidence, taken as a whole, produce a picture of the claimant's daily functioning?”
“Sufficient” evidence about the claimant's functional limitations usually can be obtained without
contacting collateral sources such as family members, relatives, friends, neighbors,
etc., and former employers. A valid and reliable assessment of those limitations can
generally be made if detailed descriptions of the claimant's functional limitations
are furnished by the claimant, MER sources, and, if available, other professional
health care providers and FO/DDS sources. In situations where neither the claimant
nor the MER source(s) provides information sufficient for resolution of the issue
of the severity of the impairment in terms of its functional manifestations, another
source listed in DI 22511.007B should be contacted to ascertain specific information needed to complete the documentation.
There is no specific requirement, however, that more than one of these sources be
contacted in order to resolve the issue.