Army report stemming from Madigan complaints recommends overhaul of psychiatric programs

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/03/08/2504665/army-report-stemming-from-madigan.html

Army report stemming from Madigan complaints recommends overhaul of psychiatric programs
ADAM ASHTON; Staff writer
Published: March 8, 2013 at 6:37 a.m. PST

The Army did not find a systemic bias against diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder in a deep review of its psychiatric programs dating back to the start of the war in Afghanistan that was prompted by complaints about doctors at Madigan Army Medical Center.

In fact, the review of nearly 150,000 cases shows doctors were as likely to upgrade service members to PTSD from less serious, less expensive conditions as they were to downgrade them. At Madigan, patients charged that doctors were changing their PTSD diagnoses to save the Army money in mandatory disability benefits they would have received for certain behavioral health conditions.

Nonetheless, the Army in a dense, 57-page report concludes that inconsistent understanding of behavioral health resources and poor planning for surges in psychiatric needs continue to plague the service as the Afghanistan War comes to an end. It maps out comprehensive reforms to psychiatric programs, such as simplifying them and offering more resources to Reserve and National Guard soldiers in remote places.

“Perhaps the lesson best learned by the Army from this past decade of war is the importance of proactively preparing for and addressing behavioral health and (disability) concerns,” wrote Lt. Gen. David Perkins, who led the Army Behavioral Health Task Force.