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A 21st Century System for Evaluating Veterans for Disability Benefits (2007)

Chapter: A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members, Consultants, and Staff

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Suggested Citation:"A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members, Consultants, and Staff." Institute of Medicine. 2007. A 21st Century System for Evaluating Veterans for Disability Benefits. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11885.
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Appendix A
Biographical Sketches of Committee Members, Consultants, and Staff

Lonnie R. Bristow, M.D., M.A.C.P., (chair) is a former president of the American Medical Association (AMA), after earlier serving as vice-chair and chair of AMA’s Board of Trustees. Dr. Bristow has written and lectured extensively on medical science as well as socioeconomic and ethical issues related to medicine. He is a board-certified internist and has practiced medicine for more than 40 years. He received his M.D. from New York University College of Medicine. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and was appointed to its Quality of Health Care in America committee, which in 1999 and 2001, respectively, authored the widely-read reports To Err Is Human and Crossing the Quality Chasm. He chaired the IOM Committee on Strategies for Increasing the Diversity of the U.S. Health-Care Workforce, which issued its report, In the Nation’s Compelling Interest—Ensuring Diversity in the Health-Care Workforce, in 2004. Dr. Bristow’s research interests and expertise are broad and, over the decades, his writings have included papers on medical ethics, socialized medicine as practiced in Great Britain and Canada, health-care financing in America, professional liability insurance problems, sickle cell anemia, and coronary care unit utilization. Dr. Bristow recently served as vice-chair for the Physician Leadership for a New Drug Policy and also, by presidential appointment, he served for six years as chair of the board of regents of the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. He continues as an active member of both groups. In addition, Dr. Bristow is a reviewer for the Journal of the American Medical Association. He recently retired from private practice but continues his other activities as a professional consultant. Dr. Bristow is a Navy veteran.

Suggested Citation:"A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members, Consultants, and Staff." Institute of Medicine. 2007. A 21st Century System for Evaluating Veterans for Disability Benefits. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11885.
×

Gunnar B. J. Andersson, M.D., Ph.D., is professor and chairman of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, and vice-dean, Surgical Sciences and Services, Rush University Medical Center, and senior attending vice-president of Medical Affairs, and president, Medical Staff, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, Chicago. His areas of expertise include disorders of the spine, lower back pain, surgery for herniated disk, and evaluation of the lumbar spine following surgery. He is an editor of the Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairments, 5th edition (2000), and Disability Evaluation, 2nd edition (2003), both published by AMA. Dr. Andersson is also a member of numerous medical societies and committees, including chairman of the Research Planning Committee of the North American Spine Society, member of the Council of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and member of the U.S. National Safety Council. He was president of the U.S. Orthopaedic Research Society in 2000. He received his M.D. from the University of Goteborg, Sweden, and did his residency at Sahlgren Hospital, University of Goteborg. He also holds a Ph.D. in medical science.


John F. Burton, Jr., Ph.D., LL.B., is professor emeritus in the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers University. Dr. Burton is an authority in workers’ compensation and occupational safety and health law, as well as other types of social insurance programs. He has published many articles on workers’ compensation programs, has edited and coauthored several books, and was president of the Labor and Employment Relations Association. In 1971–1972, he chaired the National Commission on State Workmen’s Compensation Laws, which led to changes in many states. Dr. Burton served as dean of the School of Management and Labor Relations (1994–2000) and director of the Institute of Management and Labor Relations (1991–1994) at Rutgers University. He was a founding member of the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) and is currently a member of the NASI board of directors. He received his law degree and his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan.


Lynn H. Gerber, M.D., is a graduate of Tufts University School of Medicine, and a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine, subspecialty rheumatology, and the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. She is currently the director of the Center for Chronic Illness and Disability, and professor of Rehabilitation Science at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. In this capacity, she is responsible for developing a research program to help describe the mechanisms by which chronic illness produces disability, determine how disability may accelerate illness, and explore treatments that can prevent or reduce disabilities and restore function. Dr. Gerber retired from the Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health (NIH), in 2005, after 30 years, where she served as the founding

Suggested Citation:"A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members, Consultants, and Staff." Institute of Medicine. 2007. A 21st Century System for Evaluating Veterans for Disability Benefits. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11885.
×

chief of the Rehabilitation Medicine Department, and coordinated care for patients with disabilities and collaborated in clinical research. Much of her clinical research interest has centered on measuring and treating impairments and disability in patients with musculoskeletal deficits, particularly children with osteogenesis imperfecta and persons with rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. Dr. Gerber has authored and coauthored 90 peer-reviewed, published manuscripts and 45 chapters in major textbooks.


Sid Gilman, M.D., F.R.C.P., is William J. Herdman Distinguished University Professor of Neurology in the Department of Neurology at the University of Michigan. He is also director of the Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, which is funded by NIH. Dr. Gilman is an expert on the neurochemical bases of human diseases causing cognitive and movement disorders and has published more than 350 research articles on the diagnosis, treatment, imaging characteristics, and neurophysiological changes underlying neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. He is editor-in-chief of Experimental Neurology, Neurobiology of Disease, MedLink Neurology, and the Contemporary Neurology Series, and a member of the editorial boards of several other neurological and neuroscience journals. He is a consultant for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, chair of the safety monitoring committees for two ongoing clinical trials, and a member of the scientific advisory boards of several companies. Gilman was elected a member of IOM in 1995. He received his M.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1957, and his F.R.C.P. from the Royal College of Physicians (London) in 2001.


Howard H. Goldman, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., is a professor of psychiatry and director of Mental Health Policy Studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Medicine. Between 1983 and 1985, Dr. Goldman was assistant director at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), where he was responsible for mental health-care financing and policy research. He was also part of a working group to revise the Social Security Administration’s listings of mental impairments during this period. Dr. Goldman has since continued as a consultant to the federal government on health-care financing, including the President’s Task Force on Health Care Reform (1993) and the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (2002–2003). He has authored more than 275 articles in the areas of mental health services research and economics and is current editor of the journal Psychiatric Services. He also serves on the editorial boards of several other journals, including the American Journal of Psychiatry and the Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics. In 1999, he served as the senior scientific editor of the Surgeon General’s report on mental health. Well regarded in his field, Dr. Goldman is the recipient of numerous awards,

Suggested Citation:"A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members, Consultants, and Staff." Institute of Medicine. 2007. A 21st Century System for Evaluating Veterans for Disability Benefits. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11885.
×

including the American Psychiatric Association’s Senior Award for Research Development in Mental Health Services (1991). He is a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance (1996) and IOM (2002).


Sandra Gordon-Salant, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences at the University of Maryland, College Park, and director of the Doctoral Program in Clinical Audiology. She has published more than 50 articles and book chapters pertaining to age-related hearing loss, speech perception, auditory temporal processing, and hearing aids. Her articles have appeared in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America; Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research; Ear and Hearing; and the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology. Dr. Gordon-Salant’s research program has been supported by NIH for the past 20 years. She was the editor of the hearing section of the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, and recently served as a member of the National Research Council’s Committee on Disability Determination for Individuals with Hearing Impairment.


Jay S. Himmelstein, M.D., M.P.H., is a professor of Family Medicine and Community Health and director of the Center for Health Policy and Research (CHPR) at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Medical School. He is board certified in both internal and occupational medicine and serves as assistant chancellor for Health Policy at UMass. His health policy research interests include Medicaid policy, health-care quality, workers’ compensation medical care, and general health services research. As director of CHPR, Dr. Himmelstein oversees a wide range of applied policy research aimed at improving health outcomes for those served by public agencies, focusing on improving the evidence base for making policy decisions. As a Robert Wood Johnson health policy fellow in 1991, Dr. Himmelstein worked with a Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee on issues of national health reform and integration of workers’ compensation with other health and disability benefit systems. He recently directed a national Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant program called the Workers’ Compensation Health Initiative aimed at supporting demonstration and evaluation projects testing innovations in the delivery and financing of the medical care portion of workers’ compensation. Dr. Himmelstein received his M.D. from the University of Maryland and his M.P.H from the Harvard School of Public Health.


Ana E. Núñez, M.D., is an associate professor of medicine, director of the Center of Excellence in Women’s Health, and director of the Women’s Health Education Program at Drexel University College of Medicine. She received her M.D. training at Hahnemann University. She has additional

Suggested Citation:"A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members, Consultants, and Staff." Institute of Medicine. 2007. A 21st Century System for Evaluating Veterans for Disability Benefits. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11885.
×

fellowship training in medical education, health policy, and health services research. Dr. Núñez is a nationally recognized medical educator in women’s health, primary care, cultural competency, and health disparities. She has served on numerous expert panels on women’s health and cultural competency. She was principal investigator on a number of educationally focused health services research studies funded by the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Dr. Núñez has presented nationally at conferences addressing women’s health, curricular reform, women and minorities in medicine, and cultural issues in health-care delivery and practice. Her research interests are in girls’ and women’s health, minority women’s health, and culturally effective care. She has been an advocate on eliminating health disparities along gender and ethnic lines. She is a member of several professional societies including the American College of Physicians, American Medical Association, Association of Academic Women’s Health Professionals, and National Academy of Women’s Health Educators.


James W. Reed, M.D., M.A.C.P., is a professor of medicine and associate chair of Medicine for Research at Morehouse School of Medicine, and chief of endocrinology at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Reed is also a medical consultant at the Tuskegee Veterans Affairs Hospital in Alabama. He began his career as an Army physician, holding distinguished positions in medicine and clinical investigation at the Madigan and Eisenhower Army Medical Centers. He has lectured extensively on issues relating to the diagnosis and management of diabetes mellitus and hypertension, and is author of many articles, chapters, and books on diabetes and high blood pressure management. He is president of the International Society of Hypertension in Blacks, and a master (M.A.C.P.) of the American College of Physicians and fellow of the American College of Clinical Endocrinology. Dr. Reed received his M.D. from the Howard University College of Medicine.


Denise G. Tate, Ph.D., A.B.P.P., F.A.C.R.M., is a professor of rehabilitation psychology and neuropsychology in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Michigan. She is an expert on cognitive and emotional dysfunction among patients with chronic illness and physical impairment. Dr. Tate is particularly interested in adjustment following spinal cord injury, and she has published several articles on quality of life, return to work, and substance abuse among people with spinal cord injuries. Dr. Tate is also director of the Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training Project, a training program for professionals interested in pursuing research in rehabilitation of individuals with traumatic brain and spinal cord injury, at the University of Michigan. She received her M.A.

Suggested Citation:"A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members, Consultants, and Staff." Institute of Medicine. 2007. A 21st Century System for Evaluating Veterans for Disability Benefits. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11885.
×

in experimental psychology from the Getulio Vargas University in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and her Ph.D. in rehabilitation psychology from Michigan State University.


Brian M. Thacker is a U.S. Army veteran and in 1973 received the Congressional Medal of Honor for extraordinary courage displayed while serving in Vietnam. Before retiring in 2002, Mr. Thacker had worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for more than 25 years in various program evaluation and administration capacities. He began his career at VA’s Long Beach Medical Center evaluating the efficacy of counseling services for veterans and the quality of continuing medical education programs for health-care providers. In the next phase of his career, he worked as director of the Management Services Division at the VA headquarters in Washington, D.C. Mr. Thacker is an active member and regional director of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. He lives in Wheaton, Maryland.


Dennis C. Turk, Ph.D., is the John and Emma Bonica Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Research and director of the Fibromyalgia Research Center at the University of Washington. He has published more than 400 articles on pain assessment, management, and treatment, as well as on the psychological characteristics of pain sufferers. Dr. Turk is co-coordinator of the Initiative on the Methods, Measurement, and Pain Assessment in Clinical Trials. He was formerly the editor-in-chief of the Annals of Behavioral Medicine and Pain Management Today and is currently editor-in-chief of the Clinical Journal of Pain. An international survey conducted by the University of Regina (Canada), published in the Pain Clinic (2001), identified Dr. Turk as one of the top ten leaders in pain research and treatment development. Dr. Turk received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.


Raymond John Vogel, M.S., is a U.S. Army veteran with direct knowledge of veterans services and benefit programs. Mr. Vogel has held several executive positions with the VA, including three years as under secretary for veterans benefits, six years as director of VA regional benefits offices in Pennsylvania and Oregon, and seven years as director and CEO of VA medical centers in Florida and South Carolina. Mr. Vogel has also been involved with several veterans service organizations, including the Disabled American Veterans, Vietnam Veterans of America, and AMVETS. Mr. Vogel received his M.S. degree in government administration from George Washington University.


Rebecca A. Wassem, R.N., D.N.Sc., is a tenured associate professor with the University of Utah College of Nursing. Dr. Wassem began her nursing career in acute care (emergency room, triage, intensive care unit, anesthesia) but

Suggested Citation:"A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members, Consultants, and Staff." Institute of Medicine. 2007. A 21st Century System for Evaluating Veterans for Disability Benefits. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11885.
×

has concentrated since 1980 on the study of adjustment and rehabilitation for people who have a chronic physical illness or disability. Her research has focused on people with multiple sclerosis, arthritis, cardiac disease, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue. Recently, she began designing assistive technology for the disabled. Dr. Wassem is committed to helping individuals with disabilities have more productive lives and a better quality of life. Currently, she serves on the Utah State Independent Living Council (vice-chair), Utah State Rehabilitation Council, and the advisory council for a national grant for a rehabilitation engineering center on accessible medical instrumentation. Dr. Wassem is a veteran who served in Vietnam in the Army Nurse Corps.


Edward H. Yelin, Ph.D., is professor of medicine and health policy at the University of California, San Francisco Medical School. He is also director of the Arthritis Research Group within the Division of Rheumatology, director of the Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Center in the Rheumatic Diseases, and director of Medical Effectiveness Review for the California Health Benefits Review Program, an effort on the part of the University of California to provide assessments for the state legislature of the impact of proposed health insurance mandates. Dr. Yelin’s research interests include the intersection of work and health, quality of life, and the social and economic impact of chronic disability. He has over 160 publications in these areas, and over 50 concern work disability issues. Dr. Yelin received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Consultants

David K. Barnes operates Advanced Policy Solutions (APS), a private consulting firm that provides expert advice to individuals, organizations, and government agencies on disability program policy and administration, claim adjudication, program analysis, rulemaking, and procurement. Prior to founding APS, Mr. Barnes completed a 27-year career with the Social Security Administration (SSA). After beginning as a claims representative in an SSA field office, he advanced to a variety of staff and management positions within the agency, eventually becoming the director of SSA’s Office of Disability Evaluation Policy, where he oversaw development, implementation, and analysis of disability decision-making policy for both the Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income disability programs. While at SSA, Mr. Barnes became known as a leading authority on disability policy and decision making, and a respected expert in research and development, personnel management, teambuilding, procurement, rulemaking, and litigation. He was also the recipient of more than 30 awards and citations for service, including the Commissioner’s Citation, the Deputy

Suggested Citation:"A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members, Consultants, and Staff." Institute of Medicine. 2007. A 21st Century System for Evaluating Veterans for Disability Benefits. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11885.
×

Commissioner’s Citation (three times), and the Associate Commissioner’s Citation (twice).


Robert J. Epley is an independent consultant working in the areas of strategic planning, training, performance management, and the operations of federal entitlement programs. Mr. Epley served with the Department of Veterans Affairs for 31 years, dividing his tenure between positions in headquarters and in the field. In VA field offices, he progressed through positions as benefits counselor and claims examiner to director of two regional offices in Detroit and St. Louis. At VA headquarters, Mr. Epley was chief of field operations for the education program, and later he served as deputy director and director of the Compensation & Pension Service. His final position with VA was associate deputy under secretary for policy and program management, where he was responsible for administration and oversight of the Veterans Benefits Administration’s business lines: compensation, pension, housing, insurance, vocational rehabilitation, and education. During his tenure with VA, Mr. Epley received two Vice President Al Gore Hammer Awards for reinventing government and two Presidential Rank Awards.

IOM Staff

Michael McGeary (study director) is a political scientist specializing in science, health, and technology policy analysis and program evaluation. Between 1995 and 2004, he was an independent consultant to government agencies, foundations, and nonprofit organizations in issues of science and technology. Between 1981 and 1995, Mr. McGeary was at IOM and the National Academy of Sciences, where he was staff director of more than a dozen major reports on such topics as federal funding of research and development; graduate education and employment of scientists and engineers; priority setting, funding, and management of the National Institues of Health; merit review at the National Science Foundation; and regulation of nursing homes. Before this report on evaluating veterans for disability compensation, he was staff director for a committee that recommended improvements in Social Security disability decision-making process. Mr. McGeary is a graduate of Harvard College and completed all requirements for a doctorate in political science from MIT except the dissertation.


Morgan A. Ford (program officer) has been on staff at IOM since October 2005. During this time she has supported the work of two committees evaluating the disability compensation policies of government agencies. Prior to joining the IOM staff, Ms. Ford spent three years at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Cancer Center coordinating cancer research. Between 1998 and 2002, she worked with Harvard nutrition and cancer epidemiologists on several projects, including a longitudinal study of risk factors for over-

Suggested Citation:"A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members, Consultants, and Staff." Institute of Medicine. 2007. A 21st Century System for Evaluating Veterans for Disability Benefits. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11885.
×

weight and obesity among adolescents and a study of the impact of a cancer risk assessment on perceived cancer risk. Ms. Ford has a B.A. in psychology from Seattle University and an M.S. in health and social behavior from the Harvard School of Public Health.


Susan R. McCutchen (research associate) has been on staff at the National Academies for 26 years and has worked in several institutional divisions and with many different boards, committees, and panels within those units. The studies in which she has participated have addressed a broad range of subjects and focused on a variety of issues related to science and technology for international development, technology transfer, aeronautics and the U.S. space program, natural disaster mitigation, U.S. education policy and science curricula, needle exchange for the prevention of HIV transmission, the scientific merit of the polygraph, human factors/engineering, research ethics, and disability compensation programs. She has assisted in the production of more than 50 publications. Ms. McCutchen has a B.A. in French, with a minor in Italian and Spanish, from Ohio’s Miami University, and an M.A. in French, with a minor in English, from Kent State University.


Reine Y. Homawoo (senior program assistant) is a staff member of IOM’s Board on Military and Veterans Health. She has an associate degree in computer programming from the National Center for Computer Studies (CENETI) in Togo. She plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in information systems management at University of Maryland University College starting in September 2007.


Frederick (Rick) Erdtmann, M.D., M.P.H., is director of IOM’s Board on Military and Veterans Health and its Medical Follow-up Agency. He attended medical school in Philadelphia where he earned his M.D. degree from the Temple University School of Medicine, and he also holds an M.P.H. from the University of California, Berkeley. He completed a residency program in general preventive medicine at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in 1975 and is board certified in that specialty. Dr. Erdtmann’s assignments with the Army Medical Department included chief of the preventive medicine services at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, Frankfurt Army Medical Center in Germany, and Madigan Army Medical Center. He also served as division surgeon for the Second Infantry Division in Tongduchon, Korea. He later served as deputy chief of staff for clinical operations within the Department of Defense’s TRICARE Region 1, prior to assuming hospital command at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in March 1998. Following that he was assigned to the Office of the Surgeon General as the deputy assistant surgeon general for force development. In 2001, following 30 years of commissioned military service, Dr. Erdtmann joined The National Academies and assumed his present responsibilities.

Suggested Citation:"A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members, Consultants, and Staff." Institute of Medicine. 2007. A 21st Century System for Evaluating Veterans for Disability Benefits. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11885.
×
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Suggested Citation:"A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members, Consultants, and Staff." Institute of Medicine. 2007. A 21st Century System for Evaluating Veterans for Disability Benefits. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11885.
×
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Suggested Citation:"A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members, Consultants, and Staff." Institute of Medicine. 2007. A 21st Century System for Evaluating Veterans for Disability Benefits. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11885.
×
Page 295
Suggested Citation:"A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members, Consultants, and Staff." Institute of Medicine. 2007. A 21st Century System for Evaluating Veterans for Disability Benefits. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11885.
×
Page 296
Suggested Citation:"A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members, Consultants, and Staff." Institute of Medicine. 2007. A 21st Century System for Evaluating Veterans for Disability Benefits. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11885.
×
Page 297
Suggested Citation:"A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members, Consultants, and Staff." Institute of Medicine. 2007. A 21st Century System for Evaluating Veterans for Disability Benefits. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11885.
×
Page 298
Suggested Citation:"A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members, Consultants, and Staff." Institute of Medicine. 2007. A 21st Century System for Evaluating Veterans for Disability Benefits. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11885.
×
Page 299
Suggested Citation:"A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members, Consultants, and Staff." Institute of Medicine. 2007. A 21st Century System for Evaluating Veterans for Disability Benefits. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11885.
×
Page 300
Suggested Citation:"A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members, Consultants, and Staff." Institute of Medicine. 2007. A 21st Century System for Evaluating Veterans for Disability Benefits. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11885.
×
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21st Century System for Evaluating Veterans' Disability Benefits recommends improvements in the medical evaluation and rating of veterans for the benefits provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to compensate for illnesses or injuries incurred in or aggravated by military service. Compensation is a monthly cash benefit based on a rating schedule that determines the degree of disability on a scale of 0 to 100. Although a disability rating may also entitle a veteran to ancillary services, such as vocational rehabilitation and employment services, the rating schedule is out of date medically and contains ambiguous criteria and obsolete conditions and language. The current rating schedule emphasizes impairment and limitations or loss of specific body structures and functions which may not predict disability well. 21st Century System for Evaluating Veterans' Disability Benefits recommends that this schedule could be revised to include modern concepts of disability including work disability, nonwork disability, and quality of life.

In addition to the need for an updated rating schedule, this book highlights the need for the Department of Veterans' Affairs to devote additional resources to systematic analysis of how well it is providing services or how much the lives of veterans are being improved, as well as the need for a program of research oriented toward understanding and improving the effectiveness of its benefits programs.

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