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The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is planning to digitize its Vietnam-era combat records in a bid to speed the verification of claims over mental health issues for aging vets.
The agency issued a “request for information” for companies interested in converting the archival text files into Excel-type spreadsheets. Data filtering will then be used to quickly verify potentially traumatic events claimed by ex-military personnel, according to a notice from the department.
Claims for post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues stemming from events during the Vietnam War represent a significant workload for the agency. Verification of claims through the current text-based system is difficult and slow, according to the VA.
“While the VA has relaxed its documentation requirements for post-traumatic stress disorder, other mental health claims still require verification that the stressful event likely took place,” according to the document published Jan. 30. “Verifying these stressors has traditionally been a long, drawn out process requiring inquiries to the Joint Service Records Research Center, which can take up to 60 days.”
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