Government Efforts to Treat PTSD Are for Naught
There is little evidence that the billions of dollars spent each year to treat military service members and veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder are having their intended effects, a new report commissioned by Congress finds.
There is little evidence that the billions of dollars spent each year to treat military service members and veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder are having their intended effects, a new report commissioned by Congress finds.
The L.A. Times reports:
The report described PTSD care in the military health system as “ad hoc, incremental and crisis driven” and said the Department of Veterans Affairs had not hired mental health providers fast enough to keep pace with the rising demand.
The government spent $3 billion on PTSD treatments for veterans in 2012 and $294 million more for service members, according to the report.
But neither the Defense Department nor the VA have consistently collected data on how patients are faring or even what treatments they have received, making it impossible to assess the quality of care.
“Both departments lack a coordinated, consistent, well-developed, evidence-based system of treatment for PTSD,” said Dr. Sandro Galea, a Columbia University epidemiologist who led the Institute of Medicine committee that produced the 301-page report.
Read more here.
— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.
At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.
Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.
Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.
Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.
Donate now.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.