TDRL Appointment - Do I need to request my VA records?

[jeremymays92]

I am scheduled for a TDRL re-evaluation for the Air Force coming up at Scott Air Force Base. When they ask for you to provide records, the VA tells me my file is too big to release to me which is strange given it is for an evaluation. I was told again the same thing for a Social Security evaluation but SSA sent a release form requesting the records because SSA have to be the ones requesting the records on my behalf.

I was not given a liaison this time or for my first TDRL Re-Evaluation. If I was, no one ever told me who it is or contacted me either time. However, the DoD Contractor who did the evaluation for me at Fort Campbell last time had the ability to review my VA records. I brought nothing to that appointment then as all of my treatment is at the VA. Can I expect things to be different this time around and not have my records? If so, what can I do about this?

 

[chaplaincharlie]

You are entitled to a copy of YOUR medical records.

How HIPAA Gives You the Right to See Your Medical Records

HIPAA—the law that protects sensitive patient health information—gives you certain rights to your medical records. Learn about these rights and to get your medical records and ome issues regarding access to your records.

www.verywellhealth.com

 

[jeremymays92]

Anyone who has recently been through a TDRL appointment, did the examining provider already have your VA records? Or is it a case by case basis on the clinic performing the evaluation if they take the initiative to request them?

By the time I go over people's head to get what I need, to fight lazy people not doing their job making up rules as they go and deal with timelines to receive records by mail, my appointment will be over. It's a different installation this time and the first examiner I had did not look at the ones when the VA would give them to me in the past, said she had access to them.

I feel the need to ask again for reassurance since the Air Force says you still need to get VA records yourself however when you get there, told they have access already. It would be simple if the people at VA Release of Information would just do their job. I don't mind doing my part to get my records and told they're not needed. It's just an issue when you're told get them by one party and the other won't hand them over.

One thing I still never understood is how the Air Force did a 'Re-Evaluation' based on my VA exam for an increase in 2015 and I never reported to the Air Force. Gotten 2 letters of findings so far yet only asked to go to 1 appointment. They obviously got a hold of something from the VA. The Air Force make you jump through hoops and barrels for something that may have not even been needed.

 

[RGZWS6]

You can download your VA records from here: Download Your Own VA Medical Records - My HealtheVet

If you're being seen on the 5th floor, they'll have access to your VA files. You'll probably want to request and bring with any medical records from civilian providers. Did you get a number to call about your appointment?

If you're being seen by the military providers on the 1st floor, then I WOULD bring your own VA files. You can call 618-256-9355 to double check.

 

[jeremymays92]

I did not get a phone number for my appointment this time unlike my first go around. I had to make calls to offices on Scott AFB since I never been there to find out where it is. The Air Force gave me the wrong place at Fort Campbell last time. Sent me to the Mental Health Clinic but the appointment was held at the IDES Office at Fort Campbell not even close to the hospital.

The whole situation is confusing and the fact you either aren't assigned a PEBLO or they fail to advise you who it is/how to find them makes it so much harder. I live in TN and just went down 2 roads to get to Fort Campbell for the first appointment. This time they're sending me over 3 hours away to Scott in East St. Louis, Illinois. Nothing can ever go smooth about this process when you're on your own and out. Glad this is it. I'm less than 6 months from my 5 year mark. It's been a long wait. People now only have to be on TDRL for 3 years...

 

[jeremymays92]

I believe it will come down to downloading the My HealtheVet records. Hopefully they will accept them and review given it's coming directly from me and not in a sealed envelope from the Department of Veterans Affairs. We can digitally download and send them if whoever accepts them that way.

 

[RGZWS6]

If you have the ability to, saving them to a DVD or CD-R is now the prefered way to pass along your files, especially if you've had any imaging done. Way less to carry or get lost in a scanning shuffle.