Poorly networked systems leave vets on their own when seeking care

[The Straight Story]

Poorly networked systems leave vets on their own when seeking care

By Bob Brewin 01/21/2010

Despite efforts to create a seamless transition between the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments' health care systems, injured troops continue to encounter logistical hurdles and are not getting the support they need, witnesses testified before a House panel on Thursday.

Army Staff Sgt. Sean Johnson, blinded by blast injuries in Iraq, told members of the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations that he had to provide VA with a paper copy of his military medical records to receive treatment. Johnson's wife, Melissa, said during an interview that her husband's paper records can be measured in volumes, not pages.

Johnson, who also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury as a result of the mortar attack in March 2006, is still awaiting a medical discharge from the Army Reserve 452nd Ordnance Company in Aberdeen, S.D. He told lawmakers that when he returned home to Aberdeen from the Fort Riley Army hospital in Kansas, Army and VA officials did not contact one another, so he had to initiate the process for continuing care with VA.

Despite his wounds, Johnson said neither the Army nor VA checked if his blast injuries had caused traumatic brain injury, even though he and his wife had concluded that his deteriorating vision, poor concentration and dizziness indicated he suffered from the disability. The Army and VA instead diagnosed him with digestive tract problems, he said.

http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20100121_7819.php?oref=rss

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