What Information an Attending Physician Statement Includes

The Attending Physician Statement (APS) is a comprehensive compilation of your medical history as documented by your healthcare providers. Understanding exactly what information the APS contains helps you anticipate how underwriters will evaluate your application and ensures you are fully transparent on your initial application. The APS provides a detailed, objective record that the underwriter uses alongside exam results, prescription data, and MIB records to build a complete picture of your health.

The APS typically includes your complete diagnostic history — every diagnosis, condition, or complaint recorded by that physician, including conditions you may consider minor or resolved. Office visit notes documenting the reason for each visit, symptoms discussed, physical examination findings, and the physician's assessment and plan are all part of the record. Lab results including blood work, urinalysis, imaging studies (X-rays, MRIs, CT scans), and any other diagnostic testing are included. Prescription medication history showing every medication prescribed, dosage changes, and refill patterns is also documented.

The APS also contains surgical history including all procedures performed or recommended, specialist referral records showing which specialists you were referred to and why, hospitalization records documenting any inpatient stays including emergency room visits, mental health treatment records (though some states have additional privacy protections for these), and immunization and preventive care records. Essentially, anything your physician documented is part of the APS.

Information that underwriters pay particular attention to includes evidence of chronic conditions and how well they are managed over time, changes in medication types or dosages (which may indicate disease progression), specialist referrals that suggest the physician suspects a more serious condition, notes about lifestyle factors such as smoking status, alcohol use, and weight management, and any gaps in care or non-compliance with recommended treatment. The pattern of care over time is often as informative as any single data point.

Physician notes deserve special attention. During routine visits, physicians often record observations, assessments, and recommendations that they may not have explicitly discussed with you. Notes like "discussed weight management" or "recommend smoking cessation counseling" or "consider referral to cardiology" appear in the APS even if the physician did not emphasize these points during the visit. The underwriter reads these notes carefully for signals about your health trajectory and risk factors.

Mental health records in the APS require careful context. A history of anxiety or depression treatment — common conditions that millions of Americans manage successfully — is not automatically a negative underwriting factor. Carriers evaluate mental health history based on the severity, treatment compliance, functional impact, and stability. Well-managed anxiety or depression with stable medication and no hospitalizations is viewed very differently from complex mental health conditions requiring multiple medications and inpatient treatment.

The most important takeaway for applicants is that the APS will reveal everything your doctors have documented. Complete honesty on your application is essential because discrepancies between your application and the APS create far more underwriting concern than the underlying conditions themselves. An applicant who discloses all conditions and shows consistent treatment is viewed far more favorably than one whose APS reveals undisclosed conditions, even if those conditions are relatively minor.

For applicants with complex medical histories, reviewing your own medical records before applying can be valuable. You have the right to obtain copies of your medical records from all your physicians. This review helps you accurately complete the application, identify any errors or outdated information in your records, and prepare for the underwriter's questions. An agent in our network can help you understand how specific entries in your records are likely to be interpreted by underwriters at different carriers.