Clinical Practice Guidelines

[Guest allanopie]

Clinical Practice Guidelines

http://www.oqp.med.va.gov/cpg/cpg.htm#

[wallyg]

Allan

Just what I need to show that I received an inadequate C&P. Good find.

http://www.oqp.med.va.gov/cpg/cpg.htm#

[john999]

The VA sure is not following the guidelines for DMII. I think the VA rule is just ignore the problem until the vet files a claim or dies.

[Guest fla_viking]

Dear Fellow Veterans & Friends.

Getting the clinical facts straight is the real battle ground the VA is fighting in. In the old days they could take psychotic paitents and slap on personality disorder on them and the vet would have no right to C&P examinations and the VA would ignor all other mediclal data that would support the claim.

The court of veterans claims has chastized the VA over and over again for fraudlent, indadiquite examinations. This is where the VA reallly trys to set the vets claim up for failure and this is where the vet really has to fight to keep there claims alive. There are good rulings from the court regarding examinations however the VA fudges on thoses laws all the time.

I would say all other VA delay tactics and law violations are just smoke and mirrors compared to the delibert attempts to un document a vets disablity.

To protect yourself from C&P fraud. Get a copy of your C&P orders from the VA before you go to your examination. Make sure the examination is for the right issue, Bring copys of just the information that proves your claim with a brief description of why they are important. Give a copy of them to the examiner with a brief explination to why they are important.

It was in the news that examiners were complaining there was not enough time to review our C files. We need to prove our claims by giving the examiners the information on a silver platter. It would be nice if we could be passive and the examiners would ask the right questions. Experence is showing the RO's are rigging the process by having the examiners look for the worng issues and if it is the right issue they got orders to look at. The RO gives them stupid questions to ask that are meaningless to obtaining service connecton for your injurys.

Treat your examination as a mini trial and you must prove your claim as if the examiner is a judge.

In the end even with solid eveidence before the examiner. The examiners dont belive in the VA law and will write illegal findings. Thats when independant medical examinations are helpful.

One trick the RO uses when you have a good examination and I personally experenced this. The examiner listed accuratly all my disablitys and also listed the disablitys I did not have. The RO ignored the list of problems I had and focoused on the ones I did not have and ruled because I did not have them I was not disablited enough. I appealed that is was unfair for the RO to require me to have every disablity the DM4 listed so the RO could not pick one and take away my compensation. I won that case.

Just remember what ever the RO rules. They are doing it just to agravate and confuse you. It dont get real until your at the BVA level.

Terry Higgins

[mssoup1]

I think a lot depends on what your C & P exam is for and who performs it. A couple of exams my husband had was through one of the specialist departments. Seems everything went well, I hope. Then he had two that he was sent to the general C & P examiner for. Both of these exams were the pits. One tried to tie his claim to a medical problem which he does not have, nor has ever had. The examiner even quoted statements from a department that my husband has never been treated in. The other one, the examiner did not even write up any notes at all to send to the VARO. I can see the picture on the wall now. He will have to undergo these exams all over again. I have already sent a letter to the RO explaining everything which happened and explained how these exams were inadequate to use in deciding my husbands claim. I also stated that we did not want this examiner or his associate performing any exam which may need to be rescheduled. Of course, this leaves us with who they will set up to perform these exams.

I guess I could have waited to respond to the RO until they denied his claims based on these inadequate exams, but I thought why wait. It is just going to prolong the claims that much longer, so I went ahead and sent in the information for them to review before they had a chance to deny the claims based on these exams. Anyone have any thoughts about my doing this?

Thanks. Just another point of view on C & P exams.

[Guest Berta]

Terry- you sure tell it like it is-

"Getting the clinical facts straight is the real battle ground the VA is fighting in"

They hope they can manuveur the claim by NOT getting the facts straight-

I just read Stegall V West that Allan Opie posted-

This vet had already put years into his claim-and CAVC remanded because he still had not been given apparently- the proper C & Ps- etc-

You are right- the vet needs a copy of the pending blank C & P and then needs to get the VA write-up of it-

as soon as possible-after it is over.

I still feel we claimants should have copies of C & P results attached by the VA to any denial letter which based on that C & P.

But they are counting on many vets out there who never get the actual results.

A blank C & P can be a helpful guide for any doctor who is asked to give an Independent medical opinion too-

[Jay Johnson]

I am a big supporter of civilian treatment. You can always submit a civilian examination instead of going to a C&P and even if they don't accept the civilian examination you will have a better grounds to argue against any pending C&P outcome. My wife uses one of the best pscyhiatrists in the country (has several world-wide awards and specializes in PTSD and anxiety disorders).....RO will have a very tough time refuting her treating doctor's report over a psychologist/NP report from a 30 minute C&P:-) Sure it costs us $200 every two months, but I consider it an investment.