It is important for health providers to be able to appropriately analyze the mental health status of the patients they serve. The Department of Defense is developing new training and education programs to ensure medical providers can accurately evaluate the impact of brain injuries and mental health conditions.
Many Service members with brain injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder are eventually referred for an evaluation of their ability to continue to perform their military duties. Providers are assigned these cases must fully understand the process of evaluating the functional impact of brain injuries, or mental health conditions, on performing military duties. Providers must learn the diagnostic criteria for these conditions, the applicable Service medical standards, and how to address the impact of the condition on the Service member’s ability to perform military duties.
The DOD has addressed this issue with new courseware from the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. Four online courses cover the range of decisions that providers must make in the disability evaluation process. The courseware is targeted to the needs of military medical providers and teaches the process using detailed fictional cases, which cover both TBI and PTSD. For example, in one of the educational case scenarios, a Service member with a previously unrecognized TBI is initially thought to have a personality disorder. This case addresses the need to carefully develop medical evidence and obtain appropriate consultations and testing. The course also illustrates how to address clinical stability, prognosis for improvement, and the functional impact of a TBI.
A second case study presented in the course focuses on a Service member diagnosed with PTSD. This scenario showcases the importance of considering a possible co-existing TBI and explores the diagnostic criteria for PTSD, asking the participant to review the case record to find evidence to support the diagnosis. This case offers more practice in obtaining and assessing information regarding the functional impact of the condition on the performance of military duties, clinical stability, and prognosis for improvement.
The courses are found at MHS Learn, in the main course catalog called 'Disability Evaluation System Training'. They can also be located directly by typing 'Disability Evaluation System Medical Provider' in the Search Field. The courses qualify for Continuing Medical Education credits.
Other disability evaluation training on MHS Learn includes courses for case managers and Physical Evaluation Board Liaison Officers. There are also courses on the disability evaluation process available on DVD from OASD Health Affairs for Service members and line commanders.
MHS Learn is a centralized, Web-based platform that provides the military medical workforce and the beneficiary population with a single source for managing, delivering and tracking learning.
By the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Clinical & Program Policy and the Chief Medical Officer for TRICARE Management Activity