Report Calls For VA, DOD To Improve Access To PTSD Treatment.

According to an AP (7/14) story carried by at least 547 media sources, an Institute of Medicine (IOM) report released on Friday recommended that “soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan be screened for post-traumatic stress disorder at least once a year and that Federal agencies conduct more research to determine how well the various treatments for PTSD are working.”

The New York Times (7/14, Dao) “At War” blog noted that the “first comprehensive review of the government’s programs” for treating PTSD recommended that the Defense Department and Veterans Affairs “expand access to services, particularly for people in rural areas, in the National Guard or Reserves, or in combat zones.” The nearly 400-page report also urged the two departments to “improve their assessment of how well their many treatment programs work, as well as find better ways of coordinating care that can begin overseas and then continue on bases or in small towns across the country.” Friday’s report “represents the first half of a multiyear review of the broad range” of PTSD assessment and services provided by the two departments; and the “14 panel members will assess emerging treatments” for a second report, which is slated to be released in 2014.

Related Links:

— “Study Calls for Better Assessment of Government P.T.S.D. Programs, “James Dao, The New York Times, July 13, 2012.

Posted in In The News.