Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General: Follow-Up Healthcare Inspection VA’s Role in Ensuring Services for Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom Veterans after Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation [Report No. 08-01023-119], May 1, 2008

“In a July 2006 report, the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG), Office of Healthcare Inspections (OHI) described the health status of and services provided for a group of service members and veterans who had received inpatient rehabilitative care in VA facilities for traumatic brain injury (TBI) sustained during or after tours of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. At the request of the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the OIG conducted a follow-up assessment to determine the extent to which the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) maintains involvement with these same individuals to ensure that their health care needs are met…Three years after completion of initial inpatient rehabilitation for TBI, many of these patients continue to have significant disabilities. VHA and Veterans Benefits Administration support for TBI patients is extensive. While case management has improved, long-term case management is not uniformly provided for these patients, and significant needs remain unmet.”