United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2005-02-14 monographic deposited born digital 62 p. GA 1.13:GAO-05-287 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-287 P0b002ee180394557 f:d05287 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-287 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-287 GAO-05-287 Health care services Mental health care services Veterans Veterans benefits Mental illnesses Warfare DOD Operation Iraqi Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Iraq Afghanistan Other Written Product A17697 Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is caused by an extremely stressful event, can develop after military combat and exposure to the threat of death or serious injury. Mental health experts estimate that the intensity of warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan could cause more than 15 percent of servicemembers returning from these conflicts to develop PTSD. Symptoms of PTSD can be debilitating and include insomnia; intense anxiety; and difficulty coping with work, social, and family relationships. Left untreated, PTSD can lead to substance abuse, severe depression, and suicide. Symptoms may appear within months of the traumatic event or be delayed for years. While there is no cure for PTSD, experts believe early identification and treatment of PTSD symptoms may lessen their severity and improve the overall quality of life for individuals with this disorder. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a world leader in PTSD treatment and offers PTSD services to eligible veterans. To inform new veterans about the health care services it offers, VA has increased outreach efforts to servicemembers returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Outreach efforts, coupled with expanded access to VA health care for these new veterans, are likely to result in greater numbers of veterans with PTSD seeking VA services. Congress highlighted the importance of VA PTSD services more than 20 years ago when it required the establishment of the Special Committee on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Special Committee) within VA, primarily to aid Vietnam-era veterans diagnosed with PTSD. A key charge of the Special Committee is to make recommendations for improving VA's PTSD services. The Special Committee issued its first report on ways to improve VA's PTSD services in 1985 and its latest report, which includes 37 recommendations for VA, in 2004. The Special Committee reports also include evaluations of whether VA has met or not met the recommendations made by the Special Committee in prior reports. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a world leader in PTSD treatment and offers PTSD services to eligible veterans. To inform new veterans about the health care services it offers, VA has increased outreach efforts to servicemembers returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Outreach efforts, coupled with expanded access to VA health care for these new veterans, are likely to result in greater numbers of veterans with PTSD seeking VA services. Congress asked us to determine whether VA has addressed the Special Committee's recommendations to improve VA's PTSD services. We focused our review on 24 recommendations related to clinical care and education made by VA's Special Committee on PTSD in its 2004 report to determine (1) the extent to which VA has met each recommendation related to clinical care and education and (2) VA's time frame for implementing each of these recommendations. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-287/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-287.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-287/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-287.pdf GAO-05-287 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-287 Other Written Product GAO-05-287; VA Health Care: VA Should Expedite the Implementation of Recommendations Needed to Improve Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Services; Health care services Mental health care services Veterans Veterans benefits Mental illnesses Warfare DOD Operation Iraqi Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Iraq Afghanistan