| Veterans
News Flash 
VA and DoD Pilot Single Physical
One Exam Used for “Fitness for
Duty” and Disability Pay
WASHINGTON – In
a landmark agreement to simplify life for service
members with medical problems as they leave the
military and return to the civilian world, the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department
of Defense (DoD) signed a memorandum to pilot
a single physical examination to be used by both
Departments.
“This agreement commits VA and DoD to develop
a single process to assess the medical conditions
of wounded, injured or ill service members,” said
Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gordon H.
Mansfield. “We will make it easier for
these heroes to go back to their homes, with the
key questions about their eligibility for VA compensation
already decided.”
The agreement, signed Nov. 6 by Mansfield and
Dr. David S.C. Chu, Under Secretary of Defense
for Personnel and Readiness, calls for a pilot
program to evaluate a single physical examination
that would be used by DoD to determine the medical
fitness of injured personnel to remain in uniform
and by VA for awarding disability compensation.
Today’s announcement continues progress
on the recommendations of the President’s
Commission on Care for America’s Returning
Wounded Warriors, co-chaired by former Sen. Robert
Dole and former Health and Human Services Secretary
Donna Shalala.
The pilot, which begins
late this month, involves VA and DoD facilities
in Washington, D.C. Service
members from the Walter Reed Army Medical
Center, the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda,
and the Air Force’s Malcolm Grow Medical
Center at Andrews Air Force Base will participate
in the pilot.
Medical evaluations will be performed by VA, although
the agreement notes the physicals could actually
take place in VA medical centers, military installations,
VA contracted examination centers or other facilities.
The memorandum says
the process “lays the
foundation for building a network of qualified
providers and resources that will meet both DoD
and VA requirements and ease the transition of
members from military service to veteran status.”
The evaluations will
be based upon VA’s
system for disability examinations and include
an examination of medical conditions identified
by military physicians that call into question
a service member’s fitness for duty, as well
as other applicable medical conditions identified
by the service member together with VA.
SOURCE:
US Department of Veterans Affair
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