Teams sent to units to boost post-tour health screenings

[unhappycamper]

Teams sent to units to boost post-tour health screenings
By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Oct 13, 2007 6:55:15 EDT

The Marine Corps is dispatching contracted medical teams to units throughout the service beginning Monday, to deal with the backlog of leathernecks awaiting required mental and physical health screenings usually given three months following a deployment.

The initiative comes three months after data compiled by the Defense Department showed less than 20 percent of leathernecks received these follow-up post-deployment health reassessments.

The initial post-deployment health assessment is common, but Navy and Marine Corps health officials said far fewer Marines know about the reassessment given between three and six months after a unit returns. The reassessment is considered a critical step toward alerting doctors to ailments such as post-traumatic stress disorder and chemical exposures to the skin and lungs.

The Corps made boosting the numbers of Marines who receive the DoD-mandated reassessment a priority after learning the other services were doing a far better job of sending their troops to receive the medical screening.

Increased efforts over the past 90 days to get Marines seen by the docs have paid off, as updated results show the Corps has increased the number of Marines in compliance by 20 percent, according to the Army Medical Surveillance Activity. This has increased the Corps’ overall compliance rate to 38 percent.


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2007/10/marine_PDHRA_071011/



uhc comment: Great! Only another 62 percent to go.