In these instructions, the following terminology applies.
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References to the Disability Determination Services (DDS) in these instructions also
apply to the federal case-processing units.
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References to the Disability Quality Branch (DQB) apply to quality review field site
components.
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References to the Regional Offices (RO) apply to ROs.
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References to the Centers for Disability (CD) apply to the regional CDs.
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References to the Office of Disability Policy (ODP) apply to ODP headquarters.
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References to the Office of Disability Determinations (ODD) apply to ODD headquarters.
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References to the Office of Quality Review (OQR) apply to OQR headquarters.
The Request for Program Consultation (RPC) process is a function of the Office of
Policy Consultation and Analysis (OPCA) in the Office of Disability Policy (ODP).
ODP designed the RPC process to resolve policy disagreements between DDSs and DQBs
regarding DQB-cited deficiencies collaboratively. ODP maintains a database of RPC
case-related information to capture policy and workload data for trends analysis.
NOTE: The RPC process only applies to certified electronic files.
The primary goal of the RPC process is policy-supported resolution of case disagreements,
not case re-adjudication (“de novo” review).
While RPC is a tool available to resolve conflict between DDSs and DQBs, DDSs should
consider first whether other conflict resolution procedures, such as informal phone
or email contact, or informal resolution request (IRR) are appropriate for the specific
case situation. If the “other” procedures do not resolve the conflict, RPC remains
available.