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By Oscar Torres-Torres http://www.publicopiniononline.com/living/ci_23625153/social-security-apply-disability-benefits-online Oscar Torres-TorresHave you been thinking about applying for Social Security disability benefits but are unable to visit a Social Security office to complete the interview? Perhaps your disabling condition makes it difficult to visit a Social Security office. Applications for Social Security disability benefits can be completed from your home. To get started, visit http://www.socialsecurity.gov/disability. The application process involves determining whether you have sufficient work to be eligible for Social Security, the severity of your medical condition and your ability to work. Because we carefully review so many cases -- more than 3 million each year -- it can take from three to five months to determine whether an applicant is eligible to receive benefits. The length of time it takes to make a decision varies depending on a number of factors, such as the nature of the disability; how quickly we obtain medical evidence from the applicant, as well as from doctors, hospitals or other medical sources; and whether we need to send the applicant for a medical examination to obtain evidence to support a claim. Social Security has several important initiatives to speed up the process. For example, our Compassionate Allowances initiative allows us to fast-track cases for individuals with severe disabilities. Two hundred different types of disabilities qualify for this expedited decision, and the list continues to expand. Since Compassionate Allowances began in 2008, the agency has ________________________________________ Our Quick Disability Determinations initiative uses technology to identify applicants who have the most severe disabilities and allows us to expedite our decisions on those cases. Read more about it at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/disabilityresearch/qdd.htm. There are things each applicant can do to help speed up the decision process. The more information that is provided up front, the less time it will take us to obtain the evidence we need, and the faster we can make a decision on an application. The types of information we need include: -- Medical records or documentation; we can make copies of records and return originals to the applicant; -- The names, addresses and phone numbers for any doctors, hospitals, medical facilities, treatment centers or providers that may have information related to a disabling condition; -- Names, addresses, and phone numbers of recent employers and the dates worked for each employer; and -- A federal tax return for the past year. Oscar Torres-Torres is district manager of Chambersburg's Social Security office.