How often is the periodic re-examination of the status of limitation of capability conducted?

In the case of a moderately or significantly expressed limitation of functional capacity the re-examination is conducted once a year, and in the case of a sharply expressed limitation — once every two years. The re-examination serves the purpose of observing the course of the disease and the effectiveness of the rehabilitation measures carried out.

Which category is assigned to a child, and up to what age?

The establishment is obliged to assign to a person under 18 the category of "child with a status of limited capability". This category is singled out by the law, and the corresponding types of social protection are determined according to the child's status.

Is it possible to be examined at home?

Yes — the establishment is obliged to conduct an outgoing session at the patient's residence for the examination of a severely ill patient who, due to his or her state of health, cannot appear at the establishment. This possibility is provided for directly by the law.

Who determines the indications for receiving a wheelchair?

The establishment is obliged to examine the person for the purpose of determining the medical indications for receiving a means of movement — a wheelchair or a hand-bike. Accordingly, the decision on the indications is taken by the establishment conducting the expertise.

Disability Status Determination and Periodic Re-examination

Q: In which degrees is the limitation of functional capacity determined?

According to severity, the limitation of functional capacity is determined in the following degrees: mildly expressed, moderately expressed, significantly expressed and sharply expressed. The term of re-examination is determined in accordance with each degree.

What medical-social expertise is and what the status of limitation of capability means

Medical-social expertise is a sphere of interdisciplinary activity that embraces medical-biological, sociological, social, psychological, economic and other aspects. Its principal task is to determine the degree of a person's limitation of functional capacity and, arising from it, to establish the cause of the limitation of capability, the term of re-examination and the time of onset, as well as to determine the various types of social protection of persons with limited capabilities established by the legislation of Georgia. The leading position in this sphere is considered to be the determination of the violation of a person's medical and social status, or of the degree of its loss, and the identification of the capacity to retain them and of compensatory-adaptive capabilities, the realization of which promotes the person's medical, professional and social rehabilitation and his or her becoming a full member of society.

The determination of a person's status of limitation of capability, and the resolution of other questions of medical-social expertise, are founded upon a complex assessment of clinical-functional, social-household, professional-labor and psychological data. In practical terms this means that the decision is not made on the basis of a diagnosis alone: the experts take into account, together with the state of health, the person's household, social and working situation as well, which is why two persons with the same diagnosis may receive a different degree and a different re-examination term. That is precisely why it matters that complete medical and social information be submitted to the expertise.

The key concepts applied by the expertise

The law defines with precision the terms that operate in the process of medical-social expertise. For you these definitions matter because it is from them that the determination of the status, of the re-examination term and of the corresponding types of social protection derives:

a person with limited capabilities — a person with stable physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments whose interaction with various barriers may hinder his or her full and effective participation in public life on an equal basis with others;
functional capacity — the capacity for self-care, movement, orientation, communication, self-control, learning and work activity, while the limitation of functional capacity is a deviation from the norm of a person's activity caused by a health disorder;
the degree of limitation of functional capacity — the magnitude of the deviation from the norm of a person's activity caused by a health disorder;
an expert physician — a physician holding a state certificate in the specialty who possesses special knowledge in medical-social expertise;
the representative of a person with limited capabilities — the legal representative (parent, adopter, guardian, custodian or entrusted person);
specially created conditions for work, household and public activity — special sanitary-hygienic, organizational, technical, technological, legal, economic and micro-social factors that make it possible for the person to perform such activity in accordance with rehabilitative potential;
the corresponding medical establishment — a medical establishment that provides specialized medical services for diseases, anatomical or mental defects determined by a subordinate normative act of the minister.

The degrees of limitation of functional capacity

Limitation of capability is such stable physical, mental, intellectual or sensory disorders as condition the temporary or permanent limitation of functional capacity. According to the severity of the limitation, it is determined in the following degrees: mildly expressed; moderately expressed; significantly expressed; sharply expressed. Each of these degrees has direct practical significance, since the frequency of re-examination of the status depends on it.