Last week, new measures were announced to assist people with disabilities. The main updates include the simplification of medical board procedures and the publication of a list of pathologies exempted from requiring evaluation, as revealed by DECO PROTeste.
“Measures have been implemented that were published in the Diário da República, which foresee the simplification of the disability assessment medical board processes, alongside new provisions relating to them. Furthermore, a new list of pathologies eligible for the issue of multipurpose disability certificates, exempting them from medical board evaluations, has been disclosed,” explained the consumer protection organization.
What changes in the medical board processes?
The medical board process is divided into three phases:
- Medical board request – “The request for a medical board is submitted by the individual concerned (…) [and] must specify its purpose and be accompanied by a medical report and any supporting diagnostic tests”;
- Preliminary assessment – “The second phase involves an initial analysis to determine the possibility of awarding the disability status without a medical board, using set coefficients. This analysis relies on the findings of diagnostic and therapeutic support tests — conducted preferably less than a year prior — and the specialist physician’s report that confirms the diagnosis”;
- Conducting the medical board – “Following the preliminary assessment, if it is determined that the individual does not meet criteria to bypass evaluation by a medical board, the board is established in the health institute of the applicant’s residence area”.
It is notable that the Multipurpose Medical Certificate of Disability is a document certifying a user’s permanent or temporary physical or mental disability level.
“This certificate provides multiple social, fiscal, and economic benefits to its holders, depending on the degree of disability,” reads the SNS 24 website.
