Suicide Rate Increase in Warfighters

Suicide Rate Among Army, Army Reserve, National Guard Reaches 28-Year High 01/30/09. The suicide rate among U.S. soldiers in 2008 rose to its highest rate since record-keeping began in 1980, the Army announced on Thursday, USA Today reports (USA Today, 1/29). At least 128 soldiers in the Army, Army Reserve and National Guard committed suicide in 2008. Army officials said that 15 deaths are still being investigated and the majority likely will be ruled suicide (Alvarez, New York Times, 1/30). KaiserNetwork.org

TSGLI Approval Rate for TBI

Traumatic Brain Injury: Better DOD and VA Oversight Can Help Ensure More Accurate, Consistent, and Timely Decisions for the Traumatic Injury Insurance Program 01/30/09. Although VA data show that 63 percent of service members with traumatic brain injury were approved for TSGLI, the actual approval rate may be lower, and DOD and VA lack assurance that claim decisions are accurate, consistent, and timely within and across the branches of service. VA’s data show that 520 of the 821 service members who filed TSGLI claims for traumatic brain injury received benefits. However, the actual approval rate may be lower because VA does not include all denials for traumatic brain injury in its data. In addition, DOD and VA officials told us there is no systematic quality assurance review process to ensure that claim decisions are accurate and consistent within and across the services. Finally, DOD and VA lack reliable data on how long it takes the services to make decisions on traumatic brain injury claims. GAO

VAOIG Inspection of Temple, Texas VA

Healthcare Inspection Allegations of Mental Health Diagnosis Irregularities at the Olin E. Teague VA Medical Center Temple, Texas 01/30/09. OIG reviewed allegations regarding a March 20, 2008, e-mail written by a staff psychologist of the Central Texas VA Healthcare System (CTVAHCS). This e-mail to colleagues was obtained by local and national media; it was widely disseminated and was the subject of a June 4, 2008, Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing. The e-mail was broadly interpreted as advocating that for veterans being seen by the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Clinical Team (PCT), a diagnosis of “adjustment disorder” be made over other psychiatric diagnoses, particularly PTSD. The e-mail also raised related issues regarding VA’s diagnosis, treatment, and compensation of veterans with mental health conditions such as PTSD. The e-mail message which prompted this review was an interoffice communication to clinic staff. Our interviews with all recipients of the message revealed no consistent perception that inappropriate diagnoses should be rendered. The e-mail was written on the author’s initiative, without direct or indirect instruction from local, regional, or national VA leadership. PCT clinic patient encounters were coded as adjustment disorders at similar rates before and after the e-mail message. For both PCT clinic and compensation and pension examination diagnoses and service-connection determinations, we observed no pattern in temporal relation to the e-mail. There was no discernible change in the appropriateness of diagnoses occurring before and after the e-mail. We made no recommendations. VAOIG

Advance Funding Legislation for VA

Akaka signals intention to reintroduce advance funding legislation 01/30/09. U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, gathered six top national veterans' service organizations at a hearing to discuss their priorities for the new Congress. Committee members and the witnesses from the veterans' groups discussed a number of important issues facing America's veterans, from the backlog on benefits claims to timely implementation of the new GI Bill. The witnesses were unanimous in their support for legislation to fund veterans' health care one-year ahead of the regular appropriations process, as provided for in the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform Act of 2008, introduced by Chairman Akaka with bipartisan support in the previous Congress. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs

Reversing Paralysis

Stem cells used to reverse paralysis in animals 01/28/09. A new study has found that transplantation of stem cells from the lining of the spinal cord, called ependymal stem cells, reverses paralysis associated with spinal cord injuries in laboratory tests. The findings show that the population of these cells after spinal cord injury was many times greater than comparable cells from healthy animal subjects. Wiley-Blackwell via Eurekalert!

Lack of Means to Measure Interoperable Capabilities Between DoD and VA EHR

Electronic Health Records: DOD's and VA's Sharing of Information Could Benefit from Improved Management. 01/28/09. DOD and VA continue to increase health information sharing through ongoing initiatives and related activities. ...However, neither plan identifies results-oriented (i.e., objective, quantifiable, and measurable) performance goals and measures that are characteristic of effective planning and can be used as a basis to track and assess progress toward the delivery of new interoperable capabilities. In the absence of results-oriented goals and performance measures, the departments are not positioned to adequately assess progress toward increasing interoperability. GAO

Veteran Training in Digital Forensics

Walter Reed Army Medical Center Begins Partnership with Mississippi State University to Train Veterans in Digital Forensics 01/26/09. Computer science professors at Mississippi State University will train “wounded warriors” in digital forensics at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington D.C., to help improve job opportunities for them after leaving the military. Mississippi State University via Newswise

Assessment of VA Vocational Rehab Programs

VA Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment: Better Incentives, Workforce Planning, and Performance Reporting Could Improve Program. 01/6/09. By launching the Five-Track Employment Process, VR&E has strengthened its focus on employment, but program incentives have not been updated to reflect this emphasis. VR&E has delineated its services into five tracks to accommodate the different needs of veterans, such as those who need immediate employment as opposed to those who need training to meet their career goal. However, program incentives remain directed toward education and training. Veterans who receive those services collect an allowance, but those who opt exclusively for employment services do not. While VR&E officials said they believed it would be helpful to better align incentives with the employment mission, they have not yet taken steps to address this issue. GAO