LinksThe Army Western Region Medical Command disclosed that new line of inquiry Wednesday as it summarized its first review of a Madigan team responsible for checking the mental health diagnoses of soldiers seeking medical retirements.
Of 14 soldiers who challenged the psychiatry team’s adjustments, the Army reinstated the original PTSD diagnoses for six. The reinstatement entitles them to a disability pension of at least 50 percent of their Army salaries – more than what they would have received under the team’s changes.
In six other cases, clinicians at Walter Reed Army Medical Center concluded the Madigan team was correct in changing PTSD to other conditions, such as anxiety disorder. Those diagnoses do not come with immediate disability pensions.
The remaining two soldiers were never diagnosed with PTSD, and the Walter Reed reviewers determined those decisions were correct.
“These results clearly show that the PTSD evaluation process by this unit at Madigan has been deeply flawed,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said Wednesday. “How many other service members have been wrongly diagnosed, how much cost played a role in these decisions, and how widespread this problem is, are still big, unanswered questions.”
Maj. Gen. Philip Volpe, commander of the Western Region Medical Command based south of Tacoma, said the results show that further investigation is warranted.
“We have a responsibility to identify the cause of variance, eliminate diagnostic variance, and standardize our processes across all of Army medicine,” Volpe said in written remarks.
Madigan, located on the grounds of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, is the only Army hospital with an in-house forensic psychiatry team that regularly re-evaluates behavioral health diagnoses.
Col. Theresa Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for the Army Surgeon General, said the medical command does not yet know how many soldiers had such diagnoses adjusted. That number should be available this week as the Army contacts those former soldiers.
“We want to do the right thing,” Gonzalez said.
Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho launched the Madigan investigation last month. She testified before a congressional subcommittee this month and said she wanted to ensure the Army diagnoses PTSD consistently.
The work of the Madigan team unit was scrutinized this fall when presentations came to light showing members of the forensic psychiatry team apparently encouraging their peers to consider the costs of PTSD diagnoses on taxpayers. The investigation was first reported by The Seattle Times.
Lawmakers such as Murray and Rep. Norm Dicks, both of Washington, sought to ensure Iraq and Afghanistan veterans get the benefit of the doubt when seeking treatment for behavioral health issues.
The Army recently assigned the head of the Madigan forensic psychiatry unit to nonclinical duties and placed Col. Dallas Homas, Madigan’s top executive, on administrative leave.
Horoho also has suspended the forensic psychiatry unit until the Army can standardize its PTSD treatment programs.
The Rand Institute in 2008 estimated that about 20 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans would report symptoms of PTSD or major depression.
About one in seven of the nation’s 1.4 million Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have sought treatment for PTSD through the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to recently released VA data.
