Va Training & Fast Letters - Why Are They Useful?

[fanaticbooks]

I am in the middle (kind of) of revising and adding to my website, howtoassemblevaclaims.com.

One of the areas is to add hadit’s forum for accessing VA Training Letters and also their Fast Letters.

To VETERANS of the VA Claim system, we know WHY these letters can be valuable.

However, to the new person soon to become a VETERAN of the VA Claim system, these letters might not seem to be worth their while.

This topic will hopefully pull in all the VETERANS of the VA Claim system who will then proceed to explain WHY these letters help.

To start off…

Explanation of what these are:

These are letters provided by Directors/Management of the VA to the employees of the VA.

These letters can explain rulings from Congress, the Courts, or from Management.

These letters can explain procedures for processing general or specific claim types.

These letters can also include information on the Compensation & Pension Examination procedures that the personnel are to follow.

All told, they are an excellent way to gain insight into the behind-the-scenes stuff in the VA for many of the disability claims that come over their desks.

Why are they posted in their entirety in here?

Because Tbird wants to help. She created the Training and Fast Letter Forum for you, her veteran sisters and brothers, to have this access.

Because I want to help. I worked with her to get them where veterans can find them.

Because these letters have a tendency to disappear off the radar when newer versions come along.

Because many of these do not appear in normal public viewing.

Because they are scattered all over the Internet and can be hard to find on other websites.

Because they are a VERY VALUABLE TOOL especially when submitting a Notice of Disagreement (NOD), going before the Decision Review Officer (DRO), and working an appeal.

How are they useful?

Reading the letter specific to your situation, you can gain valuable knowledge on what procedures the VA personnel must follow when working that area.

Comparing the required procedure to the procedure actually performed could show discrepancies.

Seeing procedures and policies can help you provide better documentation to promote your claim(s).

Quoting some of these letters or mentioning them when submitting documentation can bring to the VA’s attention information or procedures not previously considered or done.

These are the very basics in the broad statement of why these letters are useful.

Hopefully, other VETERANS of the VA Claim System will come along with LOTS of good stuff to explain.

Fanaticbooks

(if no one minds, when I revise my website I would like to maybe use comments mentioned in here on my site.)

If anyone has a Fast Letter not mentioned in the Forum, scan it and send to me. I will be happy to work to get it posted.

J

Edited January 16, 2011 by Tbird
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[john999]

For those with DMII if you read the VA training letter it is a revelation. If you go to your VA PCP they will never draw the line and connect dots to all secondary conditions identified by VA's own training letter.

[Berta]

Fantastic books = the 1997 DMII training letter is probably 2 or 3 older PCs away from the PC I now have.

Is there any way to access the older hadit board as I put it there years ago when I used it for my claim.

I have 3 1/2 floppys up the ying yangs too but have not found the floppy yet that has it.

However whenever I see a DMII claim here I always look for the complications that the older training letter has in it-

one good thing it contained was non ratable symptoms that could indicate diabetes-

sores that dont heal, hyperlipedimia, blurred and unusual vision changes, oral or vaginal candidiasis,

extreme hunger, frequent urination,

there are many symptoms that could reveal diabetes

And of course any Blood chem reports- abnormal glucose values of curse but also abnormal creatine values-

and abnormal cholestrol .

[stillhere]

Berta, i think I still have the one downloaded from you eons ago. I'll try and paste it here and see what happens.

Stillhere

Berta is this the one?

July 17, 2000

Director (00/21) 211A

All VBA Regional Offices and Centers Training Letter 00-06

SUBJECT: Training letter on diabetes mellitus and its complications

1. Enclosed is training material that includes both medical information and some rating guidelines on diabetes mellitus and its complications. This letter is not intended to make policy but to restate and clarify existing policy.

2. If you have any questions or comments about the content of this letter, or note any errors, please check the appropriate Calendar pages at: http://vbaw.vba.va.gov/bl/21/calendar/calendar.htm.

/S/

Let me know and I will try and PDF it and upload to site.

Edited January 18, 2011 by stillhere

[fanaticbooks]

Berta,

I don't have access to previous boards. I don't know if Tbird can work her magic and find previous stuff. I am not very computer literate that way.

Stillhere,

That Training Letter is posted. I don't know if it is the one Berta means, but I think there might be an earlier version. Thank you for looking and being willing to post.

John,

You are so right. We used that letter in my hubby's proofs. It helped to know what should have been noted and was actually noted.

fanaticbooks

[carlie]

Berta,

This is quit a bit of work to find things but I have had

some success using it in the past.

http://waybackmachine.org/

[Berta]

Thanks Carlie but that looks very time consuming-

The older version of this training letter is important because the ADA criteria for glucose changed after it was published in 1997 (which could impact on a very limited number of vets filing for DMII evidence post 1997 for a good EED under Nehmer) and with 17 pages, it did have more detailed info on DMII.

I just remembered that at some piont I might have sent the entire 17 pages to VA for my claim because there were many sections I highlighted in it with reference to the med recs.

When my AO claim is done I will ask for new C file copy and it might be in there.

I look over all DMII questions here very carefully because I still remember what was in that training letter from 1997.

It helped me consderably when I reopened my claim in 2003 and needed proof of undiagnosed DMII back to 1988.