Electronic Disability (eDIB) System

·       Name of project

Electronic Disability System

·       Unique project identifier

016-00-01-02-01-2060-00-112-036

·       Privacy Impact Assessment Contact

Office of IT Programmatic Business Support
Social Security Administration
6401 Security Boulevard
Baltimore, MD 21235

·       System background description or purpose

The Electronic Disability System (eDib) is a Social Security Administration (SSA) certified and accredited Major Application consisting of several sub-systems. 

The goal and purpose of eDib is to provide foundational information technology to deliver high quality, citizen-centered service in support of SSA’s disability claims process.  eDib is a system of inter-related subsystems designed to enhance SSA’s electronic disability processing, including intake of disability applications, claims development, medical and vocational assessments, adjudications, hearings, and appeals.  eDib allows for the accessing, disclosing, and destruction of electronic claims files in accordance with the National Archives and Records Administration’s regulations, the Privacy Act of 1974, the Freedom of Information Act, and various SSA policies.

The specific goals of eDib include:

o   Providing the capability to process disability cases electronically at all adjudicative levels;

o   Enhancing the opportunities for obtaining claims, medical evidence, and supporting documentation over the Internet in a secured environment;

o   Enhancing applications that support electronic case processing for maximum efficiency;

o   Providing tools across all adjudicative levels that will create well-documented, consistent disability decisions; and

o   Ensuring that electronic processes support disability policies and procedures.

eDib uses automation at all adjudicative levels of the disability claim process to:

o   Improve productivity and increase cost efficiency;

o   Reduce claims processing times;

o   Eliminate backlogs;

o   Reduce reliance on the paper folder;

o   Increase decisional and documentation accuracy; and

o   Increase decisional consistency.

·       Describe the information we collect, why we collect the information, how we use the information, and with whom we share the information.

eDib collects and maintains a variety of information which includes but is not limited to the following:

o   Names and additional identifying information (i.e., Social Security number (SSN)) of claimants or potential claimants for disability benefits;

o   Applications for disability benefits;

o   Supporting evidence and documentation for initial and continuing entitlement;

o   Payment documentation;

o   Correspondence to and from claimants or representatives;

o   Representative payee information;

o   Additional information from third parties such as social service agencies, the Internal Revenue Service, Veterans Administration, and mental institutions;

o   Data collected because of inquiries or complaints;

o   Evaluation and measurement studies of the effectiveness of claims policies; and

o   Separate files of certain actions relevant and necessary to administer the Social Security disability claims process such as changes of address, work status, and other post-adjudicative reports.

The eDib authorization boundary consists of inter-related subsystems and their corresponding technologies, such as:

Subsystem Name:

Summary of Subsystem Purpose:

Appeals Review Processing System

(ARPS)

Provides the Office of Appellate Operations (OAO) users in the Office of Analytics, Review, and Oversight the ability to track and process case information beyond the hearing appeals level.

ARPS Management Information (MI)

Provides MI (reports and listings) for the Appeals Council, Court, and Reprographics users in order to assist OAO in managing their workloads.

Claims File Records Management System (CFRMS) Standard Interface and Destruction Infrastructure

Provides an agency-wide initiative to manage claims file records  in accordance with NARA approved retention policies.  CFRMS is comprised of two basic functions: Access to claims file records along with associated claim filings and artifacts, and managing an SSN exclusion list.

Case Processing Management System

(CPMS)

Provides the Office of Hearings Operations (OHO) users the ability to track and process case information at the hearing appeals level.

CPMS MI

Provides MI (reports and listings) at the Hearing Office, Regional, and National levels in order for OHO to manage cases at the hearing appeals level. 

Compassionate Allowance / Quick Disability Determination Datamart

(CAL/QDD)

Provides disability MI (reports) for Central Office management and staff to evaluate the effectiveness of CAL/QDD processes, the accuracy of the Predictive Model, and determine if the CAL/QDD processes are meeting the Agency Performance Plan goals.

Digital Recording

Provides audio recordings of the disability hearings.

Disability Database System

Extracts initial disability claims and continuing disability review cases daily from the National Disability Determination Services (NDDS) and weekly determinations processed by OHO and other components in the Wilkes-Barre Operations Center.

Disability Operational Data Store

Provides disability MI for regional office disability and MI staffs, central office disability and budget staffs, and State Disability Determination Services (DDS) to assist in managing their workloads.

Document Generation System

Provides OHO the ability to generate notices.

Document Management Architecture eClient

A document repository that contains images and multimedia materials (i.e., scanned documents).

Electronic Authorization

Creates electronically signed 827 documents for use by the DDS or OHO staff to retrieve medical evidence for the purposes of disability adjudication.

Electronic Bench Book

Captures the decision maker’s analysis from pre-hearing to post-hearing, documents hearing notes and questions, creates hypotheticals, records claimant, vocational expert, and medical expert testimonies, and documents instructions to decision writers.

Electronic Claims Analysis Tool

(eCAT)

Standardized collection of decision-based information documentation based on a sequential evaluation process for disability.

eCAT MI

Provides MI (charts and reports) that the Office of Disability Policy, Office of Disability Determinations (ODD) and Central Office use to monitor, and to track the progress and usage of eCAT.

Electronic Disability Collect System

Collects information about the applicant and his or her medical conditions, and stores the data in the electronic folder (EF).

Electronic Folder Interface

Test

The messaging hub used to transmit messages between systems involved in electronic disability case processing.

Electronic Records Express

(ERE)

Interactive suite of Internet services designed to allow registered users external to SSA the ability to submit evidence in support of the disability process.  It also allows registered Appointed Representatives to view and download documents and digital recordings stored in the EF.

ERE MI

Collects data and statistics on the medical information processed at the ERE website and at each Front End Capture System server deployed in either the DDS or OHO.

Health Information Technology (HIT) MI

Provides data analysis to monitor the workloads and provides trend analysis and information on a variety of variables for agency users.

Internet Appeals (iAppeals) (i3441)

Future Releases of the Management Cost Allocation System - Cost Accounting MI.

Internet Disability Report – Data Access

Provides the public with the ability to complete the Disability Report-Child (Form SSA-3820) online.

Internet Disability Report – Web (i3820)

The i3820 is the only standalone Internet Disability Report.  Internet users may access and submit an i3820 via MySocialSecurity without first filing an Internet Claim or iAppeal.

Internet Adult Disability

Report (i3368)

Provides the public with the ability to complete and submit an appeal request and disability report using any of the following forms:  iSSA-3368, SSA-3369, SSA-3441-BK, or SSA-3820.

Internet Adult Disability

Report (i3368) - Java Batch

Provides the public and third party users with the ability to complete the Adult Disability Report (Form SSA-3368) online.

Legal Automated Workflow System

Manages workloads in the Office of the General Counsel.

Medical Evidence Gathering and Analysis HIT

Automates the process of requesting and receiving electronic medical evidence from health information technology partners.  On all adjudicative levels, it provides a disability case examiner with a detailed, human readable representation of claimant’s medical evidence and potential disability impairment(s).

Modernized Integrated Disability Adjudicative System

Disability case processing system used to adjudicate Social Security disability claims for State DDSs and federal disability processing branches and disability processing units.

NDDS System

A Federal disability case processing system used in DDSs and federal disability processing branches and disability processing units.

National Vendor File

(NVF)

Allows data to be accessible to all disability processes.  The project sponsor, ODD, worked with all stakeholders and defined data governance rules that outlines who has the update authority for different sections of vendor data.

NVF Data Feeds

This application provides integration between DDS legacy systems and the NVF via EFI.  Data is fed from the legacy systems to EFI to NVF.  Data is staged in the NVF database and migrated to operational tables via Ab Initio software.

NVF Management Application

An intranet based application, which consists of a consolidation of all disability vendor data repositories.  This application allows the Client to search for providers of medical information via a robust search appliance that displays the results of relevance, and presents data in a logical, well organized, and easy to read format.

UniForms

Provides SSA Federal forms to integrating applications in interactive and non-interactive modes.

 

We generally share information only as necessary to process an individual’s claim for benefits or as authorized by Federal law (e.g., we share information with the Department of Veterans Affairs to administer their programs that are similar to SSA programs).

·       Describe the administrative and technological controls that we have in place to secure the information we collect.

The eDib system has undergone authentication and security risk analyses.  The latter includes an evaluation of security and audit controls proven effective in protecting the information collected, stored, processed, and transmitted by our information systems.  These include technical, management, and operational controls that permit access to those users who have an official “need to know.”  Audit mechanisms are in place to record sensitive transactions as an additional measure to protect information from unauthorized disclosure or modification.

We protect the information in the eDib by requiring authorized staff to authenticate to the SSA network using their SSA issued 6-digit Personal Identification Number and password or their Personal Identity Verification credential.  In addition to authentication and access controls, eDib uses audit mechanisms to record sensitive transactions as an additional measure to protect information from unauthorized disclosure or modification.

SSA mandates annual information security awareness training, role-based training for personnel performing roles with significant cybersecurity responsibilities, and the reporting and retaining of completed training.  All staff who have access to our information systems that maintain personal information must sign a sanctions document annually that acknowledges penalties for unauthorized access to, or disclosure of, such information. 

·     Describe the impact on persons’ privacy rights. 

We collect information only where we have specific legal authority to do so in order to administer our responsibilities under the Social Security Act.  When we collect personal information from individuals, we advise them of our legal authority for requesting the information, the purposes for which we will use and disclose the information, and the consequences of their not providing any or all of the requested information.  The individuals can then make informed decisions as to whether or not they should provide the information.

·     Do we afford individuals an opportunity to consent to only particular uses of the

     information?

     When we collect a person’s information, we advise that person of the purposes for

     which we will use the information.  We further advise them that we will disclose the

     information without their prior written consent only when we have specific legal

     authority to do so (e.g., the Privacy Act).   

·     Does the collection of this information require a new system of records under the

     Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. § 552a) or an alteration to an existing system of records?

Yes, this collection requires an alteration to an existing system of records.  We are currently in the process of updating the Electronic Disability Claim File (60-0320) Privacy Act system of records.

PIA CONDUCTED BY PRIVACY OFFICER, SSA:

____________________                                         _______                                                                                                                          

Mary Ann Zimmerman                                           DATE

Acting Executive Director

Office of Privacy and Disclosure

PIA REVIEWED BY THE SENIOR AGENCY PRIVACY OFFICIAL, SSA:

                                                                                 ________                 

Asheesh Agarwal                                                     DATE

General Counsel

Senior Agency Official for Privacy