After witnessing the struggle of both case managers and DDS disability examiners to gather and interpret medical evidence, employment history, and personal history to make appropriate, accurate determinations, Brian Byrd had an idea to simplify the process. Innovative Health Care Strategies and the Disability Eligibility Information Management System (DEIMS) software is a project of the Louisiana Office of Mental Health and Volunteers of America in Baton Rouge, LA.
The DEIMS software is a program that case managers can use when working with an applicant. Guided by a series of interview questions, case managers ask applicants about their personal, educational, employment, and medical histories, entering the answers into the program. From these answers, the program produces a comprehensive, two-page report that can be edited which describes the disability and illustrates its link to an applicant’s ability to work. It also can create an SSA-3368 Disability Report (one of the forms required for a SSI/SSDI application) from the entered information.
The software can track each application’s progress and provide a cumulative record of SSI/SSDI claims facilitated by the agency. Since 2002, the software has helped case managers file more than 1000 applications with an approval rate for initial submissions at more than twice the national average.