Health care
TBI screening and rehabilitation
After 9/11 service, VA screens for brain injury. A positive screen leads to a full evaluation and a rehab plan.
A positive screen is not a diagnosis. It means VA should do a fuller evaluation to find out whether you had a brain injury.
What it is
VA screens for possible traumatic brain injury (TBI) from deployment. The screening is a set of four groups of questions. It has been required since 2007.
Who gets screened
VA's directive says all veterans who separated from active duty after September 11, 2001 and are receiving VA medical care are screened for deployment-related TBI. It is done once, when you first enter VA health care. You must be using VA care, so if you are not enrolled, apply first (VA Form 10-10EZ, link below).
VA medical carescreened
onceVA Form 10-10EZ
What happens next
- If the screen is positive, the clinician discusses the result with you and recommends further evaluation.
- You are referred for a Comprehensive TBI Evaluation. It is done by a TBI specialist (physiatrist, neurologist, neurosurgeon or neuropsychiatrist, or a trained provider). It works out how the injury happened, checks your symptoms, includes a physical exam and produces a treatment plan.
- If rehab is appropriate, your team builds a Plan of Care with your recovery goals, the treatments, how often and the timeline. Rehab specialists such as social workers, therapists, speech-language pathologists and psychologists may be involved.
VA can also offer the evaluation by telehealth at a community clinic, with trained staff helping the remote specialist.
What happens next
Related
- Vet Centers also screen and refer for brain injury. See my page on Vet Centers.
Where to call and where to go
Phone
- Veterans Crisis Line, 24/7, free: 988, then press 1. Text 838255. TTY 1-800-799-4889. Source: veteranscrisisline.net (I found no TBI-specific phone line on VA pages. Ask your VA health care team or the main line.)
- VA main information line (MyVA411), 24/7: 1-800-698-2411 (TTY 711). Source: Helpful VA phone numbers
Official pages