Prognosis

A prognosis is a medical term used to identify the medical outcome of a sickness, illness or disease. The medical prognosis is generally derived from previous research and can include the length of time an illness will last, the description of the illness and the likely outcome of a mental or physical health condition. In the Social Security Administration disability process the disability examiner will review the medical source statements from disability claimants to assess the health of a claimant and the functional limitations from a disabling health condition. The treating physician generally will provide a prognosis for the claimant which the disability examiner can use to determine the likelihood that the claimant's health will improve.