Jennifer Cronenberg, NOSSCR Senior Counsel and Director of Legal Information

We are pleased to offer the attached HIT MER Search Request form for your use when requesting that OHO run a HIT MER search for records. It is our hope that this optional form will allow you to streamline and expedite your HIT MER search request submissions.  

Please be reminded that the instructions for asking OHO to run a HIT MER Search Request can be found on this webpage: https://www.ssa.gov/appeals/rep_info.html. The instructions are titled “Representative’s Guide for Requesting Heath Information Technology Medical Evidence of Record (HIT MER).” If you encounter OHO personnel who are unfamiliar with this request, we recommend pointing them to this portion of SSA’s website and then escalating the request within OHO as necessary.  

As the instructions indicate, there must be an updated SSA-827 on the ERE when asking OHO to run these HIT MER Search requests. Please be sure to upload a new SSA-827 once the case reaches the hearing level and ensure that the SSA-827 is not older than 9 months when requesting that OHO run a HIT MER Search Request.  

If the records are VA (Veterans Administration) or DoD (Department of Defense) records, the SSA-827 must be “electronic.” OHO has offered the following guidance on what they mean by an “electronic SSA-827”:  

When requesting HIT records from the VHA or DOD, we must use a current (less than 12 months old) electronic SSA-827 or an SSA-e827 that was submitted at the hearings level.  We cannot use a pen and ink signed version of the SSA-827 to request HIT records from the VHA or DOD.  For all other HIT providers, we can use a pen and ink signed version of the SSA-827 to request records, as long as it was submitted at the hearings level and is less than 9 months old.  

In order to add a current SSA-e827 to the file at the hearings level, an OHO staff member must speak to the claimant over the phone and follow the process outlined in HALLEX I-2-5-14, Obtaining Medical Evidence From a Medical Source.  If there is not a current SSA-e827 in the file, prior to submitting a request to search for VHA or DOD records, representatives should call the hearing office with the claimant on the line so staff can complete the electronic authorization process with the claimant over the phone. It would also be helpful if the representative provided the claimant with a copy of the SSA-827 or a link to the SSA-827 prior to calling the hearing office.  If the representative is uncertain whether there is a current SSA-e827 in the file, they should check with the hearing office. 

When uploading these HIT MER Search Requests to the ERE, OHO has advised that you should submit your HIT MER search requests to the ERE under the document type, “Correspondence Regarding Efforts to Obtain Evidence.” NOSSCR has requested that OHO add an additional tag specifically for HIT MER Search Requests, but for now, their guidance is that we utilize the “Correspondence Regarding Efforts to Obtain Evidence” tag.  

Please also be reminded that HIT MER Search Requests should be submitted to the ERE at least 15 days prior to the hearing date. While OHO adjusts to this new protocol, we recommend follow-up calls to OHO to ensure receipt and proper processing of these HIT MER Search Requests.