Library & Tools

Highlighted below are some of the ways peers from around the country have incorporated their lived expertise into their SOAR work.

The following resources have been created and/or revised to provide guidance and action steps that SOAR providers can implement in SOAR service delivery as well as resources that supervisors are encouraged to use to support them.

The Medical Summary Report (MSR) is SOAR’s signature tool and key to a successful application. It provides a succinct, comprehensive summary of the applicant’s personal and treatment history and its impact on his or her life. It also clearly describes the factors affecting functioning and ability to work.

Tracking SOAR outcomes is a critical way to document successes and to target technical assistance needs. Using the SOAR Online Application Tracking (OAT) program, case workers can easily enter application outcome data and generate reports to use for local sustainability efforts.

This article provides example descriptions for the areas of mental functioning. The “effective” functional descriptions clearly link the symptoms of the applicant’s illness with their limitations.

For applicants with mental disorders, DDS examiners look at a person’s ability to function in four primary areas. Your responsibility is to describe the functioning of the individual in as much detail as possible and to document how the person’s illness impairs his or her ability to function and maintain employment at a substantial gainful level.

The Listings are SSA’s categorized lists of illnesses and conditions and the specific severity criteria – symptoms, duration, and impairments – of each illness/condition that must be met for a person to be considered disabled by the illness/condition. It is helpful for case managers to become familiar with these requirements.

We’ve gathered examples of well-written, successful Medical Summary Reports (MSRs) from SOAR providers across the country for the SOAR community to use as extra guidance.

One of the most important tasks for you to accomplish is to make the link between diagnosis and functional impairment so that DDS can fully understand the applicant’s disability. This article discusses how to ask questions that elicit the information you will use to write your Medical Summary Report (MSR).

What do medical providers need to know about SOAR and the Medical Summary Report?