Anyone else have paper documentation for services provided overseas, that now can't get VA coverage?

2016-08-15T07:46:44-04:00

I can understand why paper documentation would not be accepted for forgery purposes and so on. I just wasn't sure if anyone else had this issue. I was in the Maiwand district of Afghanistan in 2010-2011, the OIC and myself spent a good deal of time traveling to a number of different COP's and even when back at our home FOB which was all of 500 people, we were barely considered a role 1, we could never get Ahlta T connection so nothing was ever uploaded. Getting to the point, I developed some crazy infection on my hands and face (inside my mouth as well) that turned into blisters and swollen tongue and lips. I couldn't eat and could barely get water down because it was painful. The blisters would pop and then come right back. I have had this happen 4 more times since coming home but during the initial "outbreak" we took pictures that were unable to be used because we were told could be photoshopped and we attempted to have anything put in my record, but we were unsuccessful. So the NP there wrote a very long and detailed description, all of the intervention trials etc. on an SF-600 to take back with me. When I got to my debriefing in the states, I was told I could go to a dermatologist ( I didn't have any more blisters by now) but that was he best that could be done. so needless to say nothing ever came
Of it.
I can imagine that anyone in that area of AF at that time probably had similar concerns of treated medically, but just thought I would see.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 15 at 2016 10:36 AM

2016-08-15T10:36:46-04:00

Did you capture the incident on the PDHA and PDHRA?

Response by LCDR Rabbah Rona Matlow made Aug 15 at 2016 11:30 AM

2016-08-15T11:30:54-04:00

It is a huge problem for combat troops - lack of documentation of field treatments downrange. Whether a squad medic or Bagram, there are myriad folks who don't have records. This is part of why the Gulf War presumptive conditions were created.

Given that we operated on paper health records for decades, I am flabbergasted that they won't accept paper treatment records. Perhaps go to Medcom and find someone who can enter them into your digital record?

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 15 at 2016 8:06 PM

2016-08-15T20:06:27-04:00

Hi Sergeant, I'm a medic who has worked on COPs/LPs/OPs in Afghanistan with spotty or no AHLTA-T connection. Any and all documentation for your visits that was performed on an MC4 platform or any other platform running AHLTA-T is subject to some pretty strict protocols. Even when running offline, health documents are digitally encrypted and stored for upload once a confirmed connection to the secure AHLTA-T servers is established.

For us, this frequently meant that we would physically take our MC4s and their hard drives to a more established FOB periodically to upload our stored data. Failing that, upon return from overseas, ALL MC4 platforms are required to be connected to the stateside AHLTA server in order to upload any remaining stored data before they can be re-imaged.

Your first course of action would be to talk to your primary care manager and have them review your AHLTA records. There's a good chance that they simply didn't tick off the settings that allows them to view Theater-documented encounters, and may have simply missed them (or they may not have looked back far enough). It also bears mentioning that sometimes, units will upload scanned paper versions of SF600's into HAIMS (a system for managing health-associated images like MRI's/X-rays) without generating an AHLTA-T encounter. It's not technically the right way, but it happens. So when you do contact your PCM, ask them to check your HAIMS as well, just in case.

If they're 100% certain that there are no digital encounters in your AHLTA record or in HAIMS from your time overseas, then your options are unfortunately much more limited. Thinking logically, if I were a medic in that unit, even years after the fact, I would probably still have those paper copies stuffed in a box somewhere in my storage warehouse by all my medical equipment sets. It never hurts to contact the medics currently working at the unit and asking them to look around for old SF600's. Most medical units I know have at least one or two boxes of SF600's from field problems, deployments, and other such things that they've been "meaning to" upload but never got around to it.

If they can't, or won't help you, your next option would be to get in touch with your old medic and provider who oversaw your care and have them write a sworn statement, affidavit, or other official document to at least provide some type of proof of care given.

I really hope you find what you need, Sergeant, good luck!