New development: The commodification of social security medical assessments—academic analysis and practitioner experience

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Table 1. Best practice guidelines for medical assessments for welfare benefits.

Best practice principle	Reasoning
Provide help to ensure the information-gathering form is completed appropriately.	All assessments begin with the claimant being sent an information-gathering form. A well-completed form clarifies the picture for the assessor and makes it less likely that they reject or ignore the claimant’s stated needs.
Ensure that the claimant is able to participate in the assessment, whether it is face to face or by telephone, and that they have someone with them to act as support/witness.	Many claimants find it difficult to articulate their needs and difficulties and a carer, friend or family member can often explain the situation more clearly.
Consider (audio) recording or asking the assessor to record the assessment.	Claimants often dispute the veracity of the assessor’s record of the meeting, and this can be a way of checking what was discussed.
Gather appropriate supporting evidence and submit this where it clearly supports the claimant's case.	Many claimants submit evidence that either fails to address relevant issues for the assessment or provides a misleading or incomplete picture.
Make sure the claimant understands the need to challenge a negative decision.	Appeals have high success rates. Claimants frequently accept decisions and, rather than appeal, submit another claim some months later. It is almost always best to pursue cases through the appeal process.
Always ensure that a claimant is represented by a specialist welfare rights worker in any appeal.	The appeal process can be very difficult for individuals to navigate and the success rates are significantly higher where claimants are appropriately represented.