DoD/VA Care Transition Process for Service Members Injured in OIF/OEF

The Department of Defense (DoD) and the VA Offices of Inspector General formed an interagency team to assess the transition process for service members injured in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) as they transfer from the DoD health care system to the VA health care system. Having an interagency team allowed access to DoD and VA facilities, records, and decision-makers. The objective was to conduct a strategic assessment of law, policies, and processes governing the military services to determine if service members wounded in OIF/OEF receive effective access to care and benefits during and after transition from DoD healthcare to the VA. The evaluation did not include an assessment of any aspect of the quality of medical care. The team developed recommendations from document analyses and interviews with decision makers, process owners, healthcare professionals, and other stakeholders. The interagency IG team initially identified 14 draft recommendations for program improvement. In collaboration with the other groups, the DoD/VA team determined that Congress, various commissions, DoD, and VA had already addressed 11 of their 14 draft recommendations.