United States Government Accountability Office

GAO Testimony 

Before the Committee on Veterans’ 

Affairs, House of Representatives

VA AND DOD HEALTH 

CARE 

VA Has Policies and 

Outreach Efforts to Smooth 

Transition from DOD Health

Care, but Sharing of Health 

Information Remains 

Limited 

Statement of Cynthia A. Bascetta 

Director, Health Care

For Release on Delivery 

Expected at 10:30 a.m. EDT 

Wednesday, September 28, 2005 

GAO-05-1052T
What GAO Found

United States Government Accountability Office

Why GAO Did This Study

Highlights

Accountability Integrity Reliability

September 28, 2005

VA AND DOD HEALTH CARE

VA Has Policies and Outreach Efforts to

Smooth Transition from DOD Health Care, 

but Sharing of Health Information

Remains Limited 

Highlights of GAO-05-1052T, a testimony 

before the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs,

House of Representatives

Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and

Operation Enduring Freedom

(OEF) servicemembers and those 

who are discharged from military 

service may receive health care 

from the Department of Veterans 

Affairs (VA). Since the onset of

OIF and OEF, the Department of

Defense (DOD) has reported that 

more than 15,000 servicemembers

have been wounded in combat. 

Those who are seriously injured 

require comprehensive health care 

services and may be treated at 

either DOD or VA medical facilities. 

Because VA is expected to provide 

health care to many of the injured

OIF and OEF servicemembers, 

concerns have been raised about 

the ease with which these 

individuals and their health care 

information transition from DOD’s 

to VA’s health care system.

This statement is based on GAO’s 

preliminary work on “seamless 

transition” and focuses on (1) the

policies and outreach efforts that 

VA has instituted to provide timely

access to health care to OIF and

OEF servicemembers and (2) the 

extent to which individually

identifiable health information is

shared systematically between

DOD and VA. Since GAO’s work is 

still in the early stages of review, 

the statement is limited to

information gathered to date. 

Since 2002, VA has developed policies and procedures that direct its medical

facilities to provide OIF and OEF servicemembers timely access to care. 

Most notably, VA

• assigned VA social workers to selected military treatment facilities in

August 2003, 

• directed VA facilities to designate combat case managers in October 

2003, and 

• directed the establishment of four VA polytrauma centers for OIF and 

OEF servicemembers in June 2005. 

In January 2005, VA established the Seamless Transition Office to further 

improve coordination within the Veterans Benefits Administration and the 

Veterans Health Administration as well as between DOD and VA. In

addition, VA has increased outreach efforts by providing OIF and OEF 

servicemembers who have been discharged with personal letters and 

newsletters, a Web site for health information tailored to OIF and OEF 

servicemembers, counseling services, and briefings on available VA health 

care services. GAO is in the beginning stages of reviewing VA’s efforts to 

provide a smooth transition from DOD health care and has not yet evaluated 

the effectiveness of VA’s related policies, procedures, and outreach 

initiatives.

An important issue associated with transitioning servicemembers to VA 

health care is the sharing of health care information between DOD and VA. 

The two departments have signed a memorandum of understanding for 

sharing individually identifiable health information, but the memorandum 

does not specify the particular types of individually identifiable health 

information that will be exchanged and when the information will be shared. 

The absence of specific procedures continues to hinder VA’s efforts to 

obtain needed health information from DOD. Recently, DOD has begun to

share certain health assessment information with VA on individuals who 

have been discharged from the military, and the transmitting of this

information to VA on a routine basis is expected to occur in October 2005. 

However, according to VA officials, DOD is not providing health assessment 

information to VA for Reserve and National Guard members, who comprise 

35 percent of the OIF and OEF forces. 

www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-1052T.

To view the full product, including the scope 

and methodology, click on the link above.

For more information, contact Cynthia A.

Bascetta at (202) 512-7101 or 

bascettac@gao.gov.
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: 

Thank you for inviting me to share our work to date on the Department of

Veterans Affairs’ (VA) collaboration with the Department of Defense 

(DOD) to ensure that servicemembers are able to make a “seamless

transition” from DOD health care to VA health care services.

Servicemembers, under certain conditions, 1 and those who are discharged 

from service may receive health care from VA. On September 20, 2005, 

DOD reported that more than 15,000 servicemembers had been wounded 

during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom

(OEF).2

 Many return to active duty after they are treated, but those who

are seriously injured require comprehensive health care services and may

undergo a medical evaluation to determine their ability to stay in the 

military. Because VA is expected to provide health care for injured OIF 

and OEF servicemembers, including those who have been discharged, 

concerns have been raised about the ease with which these individuals

transition from DOD’s to VA’s health care system.

My remarks today are based on preliminary work done on this issue and

focus on (1) the policies and outreach efforts that VA has instituted to

provide timely access to care to OIF and OEF servicemembers and (2) the 

extent to which individually identifiable health information is shared

systematically between DOD and VA. 

In conducting our review, we interviewed DOD, National Guard, Reserve, 

and VA officials and obtained documents on relevant policies, procedures, 

and VA outreach materials. Among these documents, we reviewed the 

June 29, 2005, memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the sharing of

data between DOD and VA and the applicable law and regulations that

govern the sharing of individually identifiable health information. In

addition, we examined issues related to eligibility and medical staff roles 

and responsibilities. We also visited the two DOD medical facilities that

receive and treat most of the seriously injured OIF and OEF 

 1

Generally, VA supplements care that is not available from DOD or when the demand for

such care cannot be met by DOD.

2

OIF, which began in March 2003, supports combat operations in Iraq and other locations.

OEF, which began in October 2001, supports combat operations in Afghanistan and other

locations. 

Page 1 GAO-05-1052T
servicemembers and two VA medical centers that also treat them.

3

 We did 

our work from May 2005 through September 2005 in accordance with 

generally accepted government auditing standards.

In summary, VA has developed policies and procedures that direct its 

medical facilities to provide OIF and OEF servicemembers timely access 

to care. VA has also increased outreach efforts by providing OIF and OEF 

servicemembers who have been discharged with personal letters and 

newsletters, a Web site for health information tailored to OIF and OEF 

servicemembers, counseling services, and briefings on available VA health

care services. We are in the beginning stages of our review of VA’s efforts 

to provide a smooth transition from DOD health care and have not yet

evaluated the effectiveness of VA’s related policies, procedures, and

outreach initiatives. We are reviewing the implementation of these efforts 

in our ongoing work for this committee. 

An important issue associated with transitioning servicemembers to VA 

health care is the sharing of health care information between DOD and VA. 

Currently, DOD does not have specific procedures for routinely 

transmitting to VA health information on servicemembers who are likely to

be discharged from the military due to their medical condition. Recently,

DOD has begun to share certain health assessment information with VA on 

individuals who have separated from the military, and the transmitting of

this information to VA on a routine basis is expected to occur in October 

2005. However, according to VA officials, DOD is not providing health

assessment information to VA for Reserve and National Guard members, 

who comprise 35 percent of the OIF and OEF forces. 

Since the onset of OIF and OEF, over 1 million servicemembers have been 

deployed. As of the end of June 2005, more than 393,000 active duty, 

Reserve, and National Guard servicemembers from OIF and OEF have

separated from active duty. Of these, over 100,000 have sought health care 

services from VA, including over 2,400 who received inpatient care at VA 

medical centers. The Reserves and National Guard account for about

54,000 of those servicemembers who sought health care services from VA. 

The three most common health problems have been musculoskeletal 

Background 

 3

The DOD facilities were Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical 

Center; the VA facilities were the Augusta VA Medical Center and the Richmond VA

Medical Center. 

Page 2 GAO-05-1052T
ailments (primarily joint and back disorders), dental problems, and mental

health disorders. 

Servicemembers injured during OIF and OEF are surviving injuries that

would have been fatal in past conflicts. In World War II, 30 percent of

Americans injured in combat died; this proportion dropped to 24 percent

for those injured in the Vietnam War and further dropped to about 

10 percent for those injured in OIF and OEF. Many of the injured OIF and 

OEF servicemembers are returning with severe disabilities, including 

traumatic brain injuries and missing limbs. 

About 65 percent of OIF and OEF combat injuries are from improvised 

explosive devices, blasts, landmines, and fragments. Of those injured 

personnel, about 60 percent have some degree of traumatic brain injury 

and may require comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation services to

address complex cognitive, physical, and mental health issues resulting 

from trauma. Traumatic brain injuries may cause problems with cognition 

(concentration, memory, judgment, and mood), movement (strength, 

coordination, and balance), sensation (tactile sensation and vision), and 

emotion (instability and impulsivity). The Department of Health and

Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that

an estimated 15 percent of persons who sustain a mild brain injury

continue to experience symptoms 1 year after injury. 

Initially, most severely injured servicemembers, including Reserve and 

National Guard members, are brought to Landstuhl Regional Medical

Center in Germany for treatment. From there, they are transported to 

appropriate U.S. military medical facilities, with most of the seriously

injured admitted to Walter Reed Army Medical Center or the National

Naval Medical Center, both located in the Washington, D.C., area. Once 

these servicemembers are medically stabilized, many are relocated closer

to their homes or military commands and continue recovering either on an

inpatient or outpatient basis at a VA medical facility, a DOD military

treatment facility (MTF), or DOD civilian provider.

4

Those who have served, or are now serving, in OIF and OEF may receive 

care from VA for conditions that are or may be related to their combat

 4

DOD provides health care to beneficiaries through its TRICARE program. TRICARE 

beneficiaries can obtain health care through DOD’s direct care system of military hospitals 

and clinics, commonly referred to as MTFs, and through DOD’s purchased care system of

civilian providers.

Page 3 GAO-05-1052T
services for a 2-year period following the date of their separation from

active duty without copayment requirements. Following this 2-year period, 

they may continue to receive VA care but may be subject to a copayment

for their health care. 

To ensure that servicemembers engaged in conflicts receive the health 

care services they need, Congress passed legislation in May 1982 that

authorized VA to provide medical services to members of the armed forces 

during and immediately following wartime or national emergencies

involving the armed forces in armed conflict.5

 The law authorized the 

Secretary of VA to give servicemembers responding to or involved in a war

or national emergency a higher priority for medical services than all 

veterans, except those with a service-connected disability.6

 VA has 

established an enrollment system to manage veterans’ access to care. This 

system includes eight priority categories for enrollment, with higher

priority given to veterans with service-connected disabilities, lower 

incomes, or other recognized statuses such as former prisoners of war. 

Separation from the military and return to civilian life may entail the 

exchange of individually identifiable health information between DOD and 

VA. The exchange of this information must comply with the Health 

Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)7

 and the 

HIPAA Privacy Rule, which became effective April 14, 2001.8

 The HIPAA 

Privacy Rule permits DOD and VA to share servicemembers’ health

information under certain circumstances, such as for continuity of health 

care treatment or if the individual signs a proper authorization. 

 5

The Veterans’ Administration and Department of Defense Health Resources Sharing and

Emergency Operations Act, Pub. L. No. 97-174, §4(a), 96 Stat. 70, 74-75. 

6

A service-connected disability is an injury or disease that was incurred or aggravated while

on active military duty.

7

Pub. L. No. 104-191, 110 Stat. 1936 (1996). 

8

The HIPAA Privacy Rule applies to covered entities and specifies how individually

identifiable health data may be used and disclosed by covered entities. See 45 C.F.R. §

164.500(a), 164.502 (2004). Covered entities are defined in the HIPAA Privacy Rule as

health plans, clearinghouses, and certain health care providers. Both DOD’s health care

system and VA’s health care system are covered entities. See 45 C.F.R. § 160.103 (2004). All

covered entities had to comply with the HIPAA Privacy Rule by April 14, 2003, with the 

exception of small health plans. 

Page 4 GAO-05-1052T
VA Has Established 

Policies and Outreach

Efforts Intended to 

Smooth the Transition 

from DOD Health Care

VA has taken several steps to provide OIF and OEF servicemembers with

timely access to health care and information on health care services. 

These steps include setting policies and developing outreach efforts 

targeting OIF and OEF servicemembers.

Since 2002, VA has issued a memorandum and four directives addressing 

eligibility criteria and the health care needs of recently discharged 

servicemembers.9

Recent VA Policies Designed to 

Facilitate Transition to VA 

Health Care 

• A September 2002 directive established policies and procedures for 

offering hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care to recently

discharged servicemembers for a 2-year period, beginning on their 

discharge date, for any illness, without requiring proof of its link to

military service.10 Under this directive, these veterans are enrolled in the 

lowest priority category for service-connected veterans. 

• In April 2003, when the President declared a national emergency with 

respect to the conflict in Iraq, the Secretary of VA issued a memorandum

authorizing VA to give priority health care to servicemembers who 

sustained an injury, over veterans and others eligible for VA care, except 

those with service-connected disabilities. 

• An October 2003 directive (1) provided instructions to VA employees for 

determining the eligibility of recent combat veterans to be enrolled for VA 

health care; (2) required each VA medical facility to designate a clinically 

trained combat case manager, usually a social worker or nurse, to 

coordinate all of the medical care and services provided to recent combat

veterans by VA and non-VA agencies until the veterans no longer need 

care; and (3) required VA medical facilities to designate a point of 

contact—administrative staff, social worker, or nurse—to receive and 

expedite transfers of servicemembers from MTFs to VA medical facilities 

and coordinate with VA’s combat case managers.

11

 9

VA sometimes refers to individuals who served in combat after the Gulf War or during a 

period of hostilities after November 11, 1998, as “recent combat veterans”. Our reference to 

discharged servicemembers includes deactivated Reserve and National Guard members.

10VHA Directive 2002-049, Combat Veterans are Eligible for Medical Services for 2-Years 

After Separation from Military Service Notwithstanding Lack of Evidence for Service 

Connection, September 11, 2002. 

11VHA Directive 2003-061, Combat Veteran Intake Processing and Software 

Implementation, October 23, 2003. 

Page 5 GAO-05-1052T
• A June 2005 directive specified the dates of service and combat locations 

to determine whether recent combat veterans are eligible for health care 

services.12

• Another June 2005 directive expanded the scope of care at VA’s four 

regional traumatic brain injury rehabilitation centers and redefined these 

facilities as polytrauma rehabilitation centers.13 These centers’ inclusion of

psychological treatment for family members and rehabilitation services 

using high-technology prosthetics reflect VA’s intention to provide more 

coordinated care for patients, including the growing number of OIF and 

OEF servicemembers with severe and disabling trauma.14 The directive 

states that coordination of care, including intensive clinical and social 

work case management services,15 is essential in these severe trauma 

cases, as patients transition from acute hospitalization through acute 

rehabilitation and ultimately to their home communities. 

In addition to VA’s directives, a joint DOD and VA program was

established in August 2003 to assign VA social workers to selected MTFs

to coordinate patient transfers between MTFs and VA medical facilities.16

The social workers make appointments for care, ensure continuity of

therapy and medications, and followup with patients to verify success of 

 12VHA Directive 2005-020, Determining Combat Veteran Eligibility, June 2, 2005. Both this

and the October 2003 directive allow VA to provide health care services to a veteran 

without proof of combat service. If VA later determines that the veteran is not a recent 

combat veteran, VA will reevaluate the veteran’s eligibility.

13VHA Directive 2005-024, Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers, June 8, 2005. The four

centers are located in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Palo Alto, California; Richmond, Virginia;

and Tampa, Florida. 

14Because of the high percentage of veterans from OIF and OEF who are surviving multiple

massive injuries, Congress mandated that VA establish polytrauma rehabilitation centers

for research, education, and clinical activities for servicemembers with complex combat

injuries. See the Veterans Health Programs Improvement Act of 2004, Pub. L. No. 108-422, § 

302, 118 Stat. 2379, 2383-86. 

15Case management includes assessment of the individual’s health care needs, care

planning and implementation, referral coordination, monitoring, and periodic reassessment 

of the individual’s care needs.

16Five MTFs were originally selected because they received most of the OIF and OEF 

casualties. The MTFs were Walter Reed Army Medical Center (Washington, D.C.), Brooke

Army Medical Center (San Antonio, Texas), Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical

Center (Augusta, Georgia), Madigan Army Medical Center (Tacoma, Washington), and the 

National Naval Medical Center (Bethesda, Maryland). In 2004 and 2005, three additional

MTFs—Darnall Army Community Hospital (Fort Hood, Texas), Evans Army Community 

Hospital (Fort Carson, Colorado), and the Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton (Camp 

Pendleton, California)—were added to care for returning OIF and OEF servicemembers. 

Page 6 GAO-05-1052T
the discharge. By mid-July 2005, the social workers had received 3,907 

requests for transfer of care—almost two-thirds of them had been 

transferred to VA facilities; the rest were pending. Further, VA benefits

counselors work with the social workers to inform servicemembers about

VA benefits and to initiate paperwork for disability compensation claims, 

vocational rehabilitation and employment assistance, and other VA 

benefits. 

Also in August 2003, VA created the Taskforce for the Seamless Transition

of Returning Service Members. The taskforce, composed of senior VA 

leadership, focused on developing and implementing VA policies to 

improve the transition of injured servicemembers to civilian life. In 

January 2005, VA established the Seamless Transition Office to further 

improve coordination within the Veterans Benefits Administration and the 

Veterans Health Administration as well as between DOD and VA.17 The 

goals of the Seamless Transition Office include improving communication, 

coordination, and collaboration within VA and with DOD with respect to

health care; educating VA staff about veteran’s health care and other 

needs; and ensuring that policies and procedures are in place to enhance 

the transition from servicemember to veteran. The Seamless Transition 

Office uses the taskforce in an advisory capacity. 

To help ensure that VA staff assisting OIF and OEF servicemembers can 

be responsive to their health care needs, the agency created an internal

Web site to provide a single source of access to VA policies, procedures, 

and directives for wounded, ill, and seriously injured servicemembers and 

veterans. According to VA, the internal Web site also includes a list of the 

points of contact at medical facilities and articles about transition-related 

activities.

VA has instituted several outreach strategies to provide information about 

the health care services available to OIF and OEF servicemembers who 

have been discharged. These include the use of newsletters, personal 

letters, an external Web site, counseling services, and briefings on VA 

benefits and services. 

VA Outreach Efforts to OIF and 

OEF Servicemembers 

 17The Veterans Benefits Administration provides benefits and services, such as disability

compensation, to veterans. The Veterans Health Administration’s primary responsibility is

the delivery of health care to veterans. 

Page 7 GAO-05-1052T
Using DOD rosters of OIF and OEF servicemembers who have separated 

from active duty, VA sends newsletters and personal letters with pertinent 

information to these new veterans. VA has sent three newsletters since 

December 2003, with information on benefits and health issues specific to 

OIF and OEF veterans. In addition, the Secretary of VA sends these new

veterans a letter thanking them for their service to the country and 

informing them about VA health care services and assistance to aid in their

transition to civilian life. The letter includes a toll-free number for 

obtaining information on VA health care and two brochures on VA health

care as well as benefit information, including disability compensation, 

education and training, vocational rehabilitation and employment, home

loans, and life insurance. In addition, the Secretary of VA has sent letters 

to all the Adjutants General and Chiefs of the Reserves to inform them of

VA services and benefits.

18

VA has also sought to improve access to health care information. It

created a Web site that provides information specific to those who served 

in OIF and OEF, such as information on VA health and medical services; 

dependents’ benefits and services; transition assistance; and benefits for 

active duty military, Reserve, and National Guard personnel.

19 In addition, 

VA developed a wallet-sized card with relevant toll-free telephone 

numbers and Web site addresses. VA officials reported that the agency has

distributed 1 million copies of this wallet card. 

VA has enhanced outreach to those who served in OIF and OEF and their 

families through its Vet Center Readjustment Counseling Service, 

consisting of 207 centers. Vet Centers function as community points of

access by providing information and referrals to VA medical facilities. 

Additionally, they offer counseling, employment services, and a range of

social services to assist individuals in readjusting from wartime military 

service to civilian life. VA reported that during 2004, it hired 50 peer

counselors and placed them at Vet Centers where significant numbers of

servicemembers were returning from OIF and OEF. According to a VA 

official, VA is in the process of hiring an additional 50 peer counselors. 

Briefings are another form of outreach used by VA to inform OIF and OEF

servicemembers about health care services. 

 18Each state has an Adjutant General overseeing all Army and Air Force National Guard

units in the state. 

19The Web site can be accessed through VA’s home page at www.va.gov. 

Page 8 GAO-05-1052T
• From fiscal year 2001 through the third quarter of fiscal year 2005, VA held 

more than 30,800 briefings on VA benefits for more than 1.1 million 

servicemembers.20 These briefings include about 3,700 predeployment and

postdeployment briefings for about 230,000 activated Reserve and 

National Guard servicemembers.

20 VA held some of these briefings aboard 

the USS Constellation, the USS Enterprise, and the USS George 

Washington during the return of these vessels from the Persian Gulf to the

United States. 

• VA’s staff from the Seamless Transition Office have given educational

briefings on VA services and benefits to senior leadership in the National

Guard and the Army Reserve. Under a May 2005 memorandum of 

agreement between VA and the National Guard, VA is in the process of 

making staff available to provide briefings to Guard units in each state. 

An important issue in providing a smooth transition from DOD’s to VA’s

heath care system is the sharing of individually identifiable health

information. In its May 2003 report, the President’s Task Force to Improve 

Health Care Delivery for Our Nation’s Veterans stated that “a seamless 

transition from military service to veteran status is especially critical in the

context of health care, where readily available, accurate, and current 

medical information must be accessible to health care providers.” The task

force further stated that increased collaboration is needed between the 

departments for the transfer of personnel and health information. DOD 

and VA officials have told us that health information is being shared when 

injured servicemembers are transferred from DOD to VA medical 

facilities.21 For OIF and OEF servicemembers who may potentially use VA 

services, DOD and VA share some types of administrative data, such as

individuals’ names and addresses; however, the sharing of health 

information between the two departments remains limited. 

As we reported at a hearing in May 2005, DOD and VA did not have an 

agreement—after 2 years of discussion—that specifies what types of 

individually identifiable health information can be exchanged and when 

they may be shared.22 Shortly after the hearing, DOD and VA signed an 

Sharing of Health 

Information between DOD 

and VA Is Limited 

 20VA could not report how many of these were OIF and OEF servicemembers. 

21The HIPAA Privacy Rule permits the sharing of health information for continuity of health 

care treatment purposes. 

22GAO, DOD and VA: Systematic Data Sharing Would Help Expedite Servicemembers’ 

Transition to VA Services, GAO-05-722T (Washington, D.C.: May 19, 2005). 

Page 9 GAO-05-1052T
MOU for the sharing of individually identifiable health information.23 The 

MOU constitutes an agreement on the circumstances under which DOD 

and VA will exchange individually identifiable health information and 

includes references to provisions of the HIPAA Privacy Rule and 

applicable laws that permit sharing. The MOU does not specify particular

types of individually identifiable heath information that will be exchanged 

and when the information will be shared. The absence of specific data

sharing procedures continues to hinder VA’s efforts to obtain needed

health information from DOD. 

For example, DOD does not have specific procedures to routinely provide 

VA with health information on servicemembers who have injuries or

illnesses that preclude them from continuing on active duty and, as a

result, are being evaluated by a DOD physical evaluation board (PEB) for

separation from the military.24 According to VA officials, if a list of these 

individuals were transmitted routinely to VA, it would enable VA to

contact the individuals to make the appropriate transfer of health care to a 

VA medical facility before the individuals are discharged from the military. 

Such information could reduce the potential for interruption to these 

individuals’ health care treatment plans. DOD officials told us that they are 

in the process of developing a policy directive that would establish 

procedures for sharing information with VA on servicemembers who are 

entering the PEB process, but they could not determine when this policy 

directive would become effective. 

Recent progress in VA and DOD data sharing involves a health assessment

questionnaire that DOD requires servicemembers to complete following 

deployment.

25 This document contains, among other things, self-reported 

information about a servicemember’s potential exposure to toxic 

substances and includes four questions that can be used to identify

individuals at risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder. In July

2005, DOD transmitted to VA postdeployment health assessment data for 

 23VA signed the MOU in May 2005 and DOD signed it in June 2005.

24Military PEBs recommend whether servicemembers are physically unfit to perform their 

military duties and should be placed on disability retirement or discharged from military 

service.

25All servicemembers who are deployed outside of the United States for 30 or more days to

locations without treatment facilities must complete a postdeployment health assessment 

questionnaire, DD 2796. DOD uses this questionnaire to determine the presence of any

physical ailments or mental health issues commonly associated with deployments. 

Page 10 GAO-05-1052T
those individuals who have been discharged from the military. According 

to VA officials, DOD is expected to transmit these data monthly beginning

in October 2005. For these individuals, VA clinicians will be able to access 

the data through VA’s computerized medical record system when the 

individuals seek VA health care services. However, according to VA 

officials, DOD is not providing health assessment information to VA for

Reserve and National Guard members, who comprise 35 percent of the 

OIF and OEF forces. 

In addition to individual health information from the postdeployment

questionnaire, VA officials state that the agency could use aggregate data

from the questionnaire to plan for the needs of current servicemembers 

who may one day be eligible for health care and benefits from VA. This is

consistent with an observation made by the President’s task force that 

comprehensive servicemember health data are essential for forecasting 

and preparing for changes in the demand for health care services. 

Currently, the data from the individual postdeployment assessments are 

not accessible in a format that can be aggregated and manipulated to 

provide the desired trend information. 

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared remarks. I will be pleased to

answer any questions you or other members of the committee may have. 

For further information regarding this testimony, please contact 

Cynthia A. Bascetta at (202) 512-7101 or bascettac@gao.gov. 

Michael T. Blair, Jr., Assistant Director; Mary Ann Curran; Hannah Fein; 

Cynthia Forbes; Marcia Mann; Kevin Milne; and Cherie Starck also

contributed to this statement.

Contacts and

Acknowledgments 

Page 11 GAO-05-1052T
Page 12 GAO-05-1052T

Related GAO Products 

Military and Veterans’ Benefits: Improvements Needed in Transition

Assistance Services for Reserves and National Guard. GAO-05-844T. 

Washington, D.C.: June 29, 2005. 

Military and Veterans’ Benefits: Enhanced Services Could Improve 

Transition Assistance for Reserves and National Guard. GAO-05-544. 

Washington, D.C.: May 20, 2005. 

DOD and VA: Systematic Data Sharing Would Help Expedite 

Servicemembers’ Transition to VA Services. GAO-05-722T. Washington, 

D.C.: May 19, 2005. 

Vocational Rehabilitation: VA Has Opportunities to Improve Services,

but Faces Significant Challenges. GAO-05-572T. Washington, D.C.: 

April 20, 2005. 

VA Disability Benefits and Health Care: Providing Certain Services to

the Seriously Injured Poses Challenges. GAO-05-444T. Washington, D.C.: 

March 17, 2005. 

Vocational Rehabilitation: More VA and DOD Collaboration Needed to 

Expedite Services for Severely Injured Servicemembers. GAO-05-167. 

Washington, D.C.: January 14, 2005. 

VA and Defense Health Care: More Information Needed to Determine if

VA Can Meet an Increase in Demand for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Services. GAO-04-1069. Washington, D.C.: September 20, 2004. 

Major Management Challenges and Program Risks: Department of

Veterans Affairs. GAO-03-110. Washington, D.C.: January 2003. 

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