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Posts Tagged ‘Department of Defense (DoD)’
Wednesday, October 12th, 2011
The VA is in the process of updating their Primary Care Management Module (PCMM), which is the registry and databse for the Patient Centered Medical Homes (PCMHs). As of next year, however, the PCMM may also serve to “identify a patient’s healthcare team” and be able to interconnect them to each other and the patient. This way, when medical advice or treatment is provided, it is seen by multiple people and veterans with disabilities can be provided the “opportunity to become their own advocate.”
The PCMHs plans to be integrated into the Military Health System Clinical System. Once that occurs, clinicians can have “a single dashboard” on which is displayed electronic medical records (EMRs) as well as device data. This is significant because it won’t require logging into 2 separate systems, which means looking at multiple pages, to get the necessary information. None of this can be accomplished without the IT departments .
Both patients and health care providers could end up with more accurate, and up-to-date information. Secure messaging is going to be the vehicle in which that is made possible by collecting information on patients’ past questions and concerns so patients are given more information about their current subject matter. The approach is expected to turn out a much more comprehensive experience.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today – 1-888-234-5758.
Tags: Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Disabled Veterans, Patient Centered Medical Homes (PCMHs), Veterans disability
Posted in Disabled Veterans, General, VA News, Veterans' Disability, Veterans' Resources | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 11th, 2011
The Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs are nwo joining forces to work on developing Patient-Centered Medical Homes (PCMHs), which will help veterans with disabilities with their health issues where ever they are, according to an article on Government Health IT.
PCMHs were developed to help streamline and coordinate medical data into a “single, cohesive approach for patient care.” In theory, this approach will give the patient a stronger active role in their own medical treatment in that they will be able to see real-time test results, view their own medical records, schedule visits, and question their own medical care team directly through the PCMH patient portal. No longer will veterans be “passive observers” in their own health care program.
The PCMH provides something else as well: either a physical or digital location. This will be a centralized location where the medical providers exist for direct interaction, which can include:
- physician specialists;
- pharmacists;
- nurse practitioners;
- social workers; and
- nutritionists.
The focus of the care will put more emphasis on preventative care as opposed to just treating patients once they’ve become ill, which may ultimately result in fewer visits to emergency rooms as well as fewer hospital readmissions.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today – 1-888-234-5758.
Tags: Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Veterans Affairs, Disabled Veterans, Patient-Centered Medical Homes (PCMH), Veterans disability
Posted in Disabled Veterans, General, VA News, Veterans' Disability | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011
The Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act was passed in 2008 to “ensure veterans get accurate benefits and care.” As part of that act, the Pentagon established the Physical Disability Board of Review (PDBR) in response to multiple reports “adequate” treatment was not being provided to those given veterans’ disability status.
There are approximately 77,000 veterans eligible to have their disability status reviewed by the PDBR, yet only 5%, or about 2,400, of them have applied for their review. US Sen Mark Udall has asked Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Sec. Eric Shinseki to coordinate with the Department of Defense (DoD) to contact those veterans qualifying for review of their disability status and alert them of their right to appeal to the PDBR. It is essential the veterans’ disability compensation and retirement benefits being issued are fair and adequate.
Veterans have the right to address the PDBR and ensure the disability rating they were given upon their separation from the military is accurate and they are being given all their owed benefits and services. In the few years since it was created, the PDBR has granted higher disability ratings to 56% of the veteran’s cases it has reviewed.
One reason many veterans have not applied for review is because the DoD no longer has accurate contact information in order to alert them of their right to appeal to the PDBR. According to Sen. Udall, the VA usually has more up-to-date information and is in a better position to reach many of these veterans. Sen. Udall, therefore, is asking Sec. Shinseki to have the VA share their database information with the DoD and work together in a combined effort to alert all veterans of their right to appeal.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today – 1-888-234-5758.
Tags: Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Physical Disability Board of Review (PDBR), The Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act, Veterans disability
Posted in Disabled Veterans, Veterans' Disability | No Comments »
Thursday, August 18th, 2011
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) were ordered to work together in order to create a joint health IT interagency office. The aim of this office was to increase the speed at which electronic health records (EHRs) for active duty soldiers as well as veterans can be exchanged between the agencies through a single point of access. Streamlining access to these files would likely improve the speed at which veterans disability claims are processed and help to eliminate the VA’s claim backlog.
That order was given 3 years ago and the office has yet to be completed. The entire project has come to a complete standstill, and the blame rests with both agencies.
Three specific issues arose, which caused the office’s development to stall out:
- a complete lack of leadership;
- severe understaffing; and
- bureaucratic fighting between the VA and the DoD.
Both departments, however, have had enough and are vowing to get back on track. Last March both the DoD and the VA came to an understanding as to what they would be creating. It was agreed upon by both agencies their goal is to “create a single electronic health record with compatible data, user interfaces and a common data center.”
Having established a goal, the agencies jointly appointed a new director for the project. Within weeks, the departments plan to improve the joint program’s charter, which will reveal the cooperative approach to health information technology both departments plan on following to meet their goal.
Both departments have been stubbornly refusing to let go of their respectful “authority to the office.” Of the 22 positions needed to properly manage the joint office, only 8 have been filled. The newly developed resolution between the two departments may be too little, too late, however.
Rep. Joe Donnelly (R-Ind) recently introduced the Ensuring Servicemembers Electronic Records Viability Act (HR 2470). If this bill passes, control of the EHRs would belong to neither the VA nor the DoD, but rather would rest solely with the interagency office. Both the DoD and the VA oppose that measure, which may be up for vote by early September.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today – 1-888-234-5758.
Tags: Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Electronic Health Record (EHR), Ensuring Servicemembers Electronic Records Viability Act (HR 2470)., Veterans disability
Posted in Disabled Veterans | No Comments »
Friday, July 1st, 2011
Many soldiers have no idea what is waiting for them when they cycle back to the U.S. following deployments. Up until a few years ago, many veterans assumed once they left the service they would just move into a civilian job. That is no longer the reality. In fact, the opposite is true. Unemployment rates are higher for veterans than civilians on the national level.
This is just one of the issues returning veterans face, and one of the issues that can hopefully be more easily addressed than others. U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA) hopes he can ease this burden by introducing the Hiring Heroes Act (H.R. 1941).
Some veterans join reserve or Guard units for the paychecks. Others, however, become homeless. Many are discovering they are essentially unemployable, despite the skills they learned as part of their military occupation. Should the Hiring Heroes Act become law, it will apply to all veterans separating from the military.
Upon separation, every veteran will be given an individualized career assessment, which will serve to line up their military skills with civilian jobs needing such skills. This matching service will fall under the Department of Defense’s (DoD) transition assistance program (TAP).
The bill also seeks to provide further benefits. First, it will provide 2 years of additional vocational rehabilitation. This is designed to help those veterans with injuries or disabilities regain the skill levels they had prior to their injury or disability. Second, it will offer help with employment after all state and federal level help has run out. Finally, the legislation seeks to create a veteran-specific program, which will pay veterans as they work with civilian employers.
An accompanying Senate bill is being considered. There are transition programs already in existence, and this bill would extend their existence past 2012, which is their mandated end date.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Department of Defense (DoD), Hiring Heroes Act, Transition Assistance Programs, veteran employment, Veterans disability
Posted in Disabled Veterans, US Military Legislation, Veterans' Resources | 1 Comment »
Friday, June 24th, 2011
The level of mental health problems for veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan due to traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) is staggering. These problems were completely unanticipated and therefore were not able to be properly treated. The treatment for soldiers and veterans with TBIs is in a perpetual state of playing catch up. As long as that is the case, the possibility of an epidemic of veterans with psychological damage developing is very likely.
The Department of Defense (DoD) claims 332,000 soldiers have had TBIs since 2000. Most estimates put that number over 400,000, although many are given the misnomer of being mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBIs).
Most would agree there is no TBI that is mild. Almost every TBI has the potential to develop into not only physical issues rooted in chronic pain, but can also cause insomnia and sexual performance issues.
The chances of any TBI, “mild” or not, resulting in one of the following is very high:
- depression;
- changes in personality; and/or
- anxiety disorders.
Roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are commonplace and rampant in Iraq and Afghanistan. MTBIs occur whenever a soldier is either rendered unconscious for at least 30 minutes or experiences an “altered state of consciousness.” It is easy to see why there are so many soldiers being diagnosed with such mental conditions.
The majority of soldiers recover from MTBIs. Soldiers being exposed to multiple blasts compound their issues and lower their chances of fully recovering. MTBIs, however, are difficult to diagnose, and therefore difficult to treat. New technology, however, does not make either one impossible.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Department of Defense (DoD), Mild Traumatic Brain Injureis (MTBIs), Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs), Veterans disability
Posted in Disabled Veterans, General, Veterans' Disability | 1 Comment »
Thursday, June 16th, 2011
Sen. Richard Burr introduced his Caring for Camp Lejeune Veterans Act, designed to help people who were victimized through their exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. Sen. Burr expects the committee to vote on his bill this month.
Sen. Burr is the top Republican on the committee, and has been unable to gather support for his bill from other senators. If the bill passes this vote, it will be the bill’s furthest progress in 2 years.
If it passes, the bill would mandate the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offer health care to all veterans and their families:
- who lived at Camp Lejeune between the years 1957 and 1987; and
- who have illnesses due to their exposure to toxic and/or contaminated water.
The Department of Defense (DoD), the VA, and several veterans organizations have issues with the bill, however. Their main concerns lie with the idea that funding the bill would take money from already established resources. This is just one concern the bill would have to surmount in order to get enough votes to pass the Senate.
Two years ago Burr’s bill was derailed by an alternative bill, which proposed the DoD should be made responsible for veterans and their families exposed to Lejeune’s contaminated water. Sen. Burr’s bill would put the responsibility on the VA to provide health care but would agree to having the DoD pay for the health care.
Sen. Burr believes just under 30,000 would require health care despite the fact close to 1 million people were likely exposed to the toxic water.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Camp Lejeune, Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans disability, veterans legislation
Posted in General, US Military Legislation | No Comments »
Thursday, April 28th, 2011
Over the last couple of years, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has recognized and embraced their need to utilize technology to communicate with the younger generation of veterans. Their latest attempt to use technology to communicate and help veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan was a joint effort with the Department of Defense (DoD).
Their offering was the free PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) Coach app for smart phones. The purpose of the app is giving veterans the ability to manage PTSD symptoms as they occur or seek immediate help if necessary by being linked to local support sources.
The app is designed to be used by veterans as well as their family and friends. It makes available precise and correct information about PTSD so the symptoms can be understood by anyone it effects.
Both the VA and the DoD stress this application is not a therapy or mental health treatment replacement program. Every veteran suffering from PTSD is strongly encouraged to contact their local VA to explore what help is available for them. The app is simply a supplement to the professional help veterans are already receiving, and indeed helps veterans connect with solid sources of available help.
The VA and DoD believe The PTSD Coach has the potential to reach a widespread group of veterans suffering from PTSD. It is the first of what will be many new resources offered to PTSD sufferers from the VA in conjunction with other agencies.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), PTSD Coach, Veterans disability
Posted in VA News, Veterans' Disability, Veterans' Resources | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 13th, 2011
As identity theft becomes more prevalent, the Department of Defense (DoD) is doing their part to protect those carrying DoD identification cards, which includes service members and their dependents. One step in the DoD’s overall effort to combat identity theft will begin the phasing out of Social Security numbers on all DoD identification cards, according to the Pentagon. The Social Security numbers will begin to disappear as of June 1.
Current DoD identification common access cards have the bearer’s Social Security number printed on the back. For dependents and retirees, the numbers are printed on the front. For those cards beginning to expire in June, the DoD will replace them with new cards bearing unique DoD identification numbers.
This number will be 10 digits long and everyone tied to the DoD will receive one. For service members, this number will double as their Geneva Convention identification number.
Those qualifying for DoD benefits will also be given 11 digit benefits numbers. These will contain 9 digits identifying the sponsor for the benefits with the last 2 being used to identify specific family members. Although the Social Security numbers will no longer be printed on the cards, they will remain embedded on bar codes on the cards. These will not be eliminated until 2012.
Cards will be replaced as their expiration date comes due. It will take the DoD approximately 4 years to replace all expired cards with newly issued cards bearing the new DoD identification numbers.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Department of Defense (DoD), Veterans disability
Posted in General, US Military Legislation, Veterans' Benefits | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011
Military personnel suffering traumatic damage to their genitals are not given enough money. The rates for what they receive are currently under review by both the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) following complaints from Rep. C. W. “Bill” Young (R-Fla.). If everything goes right, the new rates will be made retroactive for all those soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and sustained blast wounds.
Injured soldiers are issued payments from Traumatic Service Members’ Group Life Insurance once they suffer “life-changing injuries or disabilities.” This is a VA benefit and total up to $100,000, depend on the injury. Soldiers however, are currently given more benefits for losing a finger than they are for losing a penis, according to Young’s testimony at a congressional hearing. Young went as far as to call groin injuries the new signature wounds of the wars.
Soldiers are paid $50,000 if they lose a thumb, but if a soldier loses a reproductive organ, they are only given $25,000. There is a caveat to that $25,000 payment, however. The soldier who lost their reproductive organ must also spend 15 consecutive days hospitalized, or spend 30 days unable to perform a minimum 2 of 6 daily activities:
- Bathing;
- Remaining continent;
- Dressing him or herself;
- Eating;
- Going to the bathroom; and
- Getting into and out of either a bed or chair.
The VA and the DoD are reviewing whether revising payments for genital injuries is necessary. It may be possible those revised payments will be issued within the next couple of months.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Disability Compensation Payments, Disabled Veterans, Genital Injuries, VA Benefits, Veterans disability
Posted in General | No Comments »
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