July 23, 2012: By the Numbers
40% and 65%
According to a press release announcing a new Institute of Medicine report -- Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Military and Veteran Populations: Initial Assessment: "Of the U.S. service members and veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and screened positive for PTSD symptoms, about 40 percent have received a referral for additional evaluation or treatment, and of those referred, about 65 percent go on to receive treatment."
The committee that wrote the report -- the first of two Congressionally-mandated reports examining the DoD's and VA's PTSD treatment and services -- concluded that, in addition to broadening access to these services, these agencies "should better track the treatments given to patients as well as their outcomes." Additionally:
The agencies should collect more data on barriers to care in order to better understand them, and any interventions used to overcome these barriers should be assessed for effectiveness... The agencies should also support research on the use of emerging technologies such as telemedicine that could improve availability and accessibility.
40% and 65%
According to a press release announcing a new Institute of Medicine report -- Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Military and Veteran Populations: Initial Assessment: "Of the U.S. service members and veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and screened positive for PTSD symptoms, about 40 percent have received a referral for additional evaluation or treatment, and of those referred, about 65 percent go on to receive treatment."
The committee that wrote the report -- the first of two Congressionally-mandated reports examining the DoD's and VA's PTSD treatment and services -- concluded that, in addition to broadening access to these services, these agencies "should better track the treatments given to patients as well as their outcomes." Additionally:
The agencies should collect more data on barriers to care in order to better understand them, and any interventions used to overcome these barriers should be assessed for effectiveness... The agencies should also support research on the use of emerging technologies such as telemedicine that could improve availability and accessibility.