Military Times By: Karen Jowers 7/27/2019
As officials sort out the issue of how notes contained in military children’s medical records may disqualify those children from joining the military after they reach adulthood, one possible proactive step parents can take now is to get copies of their children’s records to find out if there are any red flags, said one psychiatrist who is advocating for change.
At least military parents have the opportunity to review the records, see what’s written, and perhaps ask questions of their primary care provider about the implications, said Dr. Stephen Cozza, a retired Army colonel who is a professor of psychiatry and associated director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences or USUHS.
Parents should also be aware of the Defense Department and service policies regarding issues that could disqualify their children from entering the military.
When military dependents join the military and arrive at basic training, their electronic dependent medical record is merged with their new service member medical record. Cozza cited Military Times reporting which brought the issue to light, finding that many military children have been put on hold or forced out of basic training because of a notation or diagnosis that was made years – sometimes more than a decade – previously in their dependent health record. A number of parents interviewed said they had no idea the notations existed in their child’s record before they were flagged at basic training. Cozza also cited a Military Times editorial on the issues.
“There’s not a process to address this,†said one recently-retired military member, whose son is now in limbo in basic training. He said everyone in the military system he has talked to has advised him to file a congressional inquiry because of the lack of other recourse. His son was flagged when a review of his dependent medical records found information about a diagnosis more than 11 years ago. The diagnosis was incorrect, and was supposed to have been corrected at the time, the father said. The father asked to remain anonymous because of pending actions regarding his son’s military service.
The father, too, advises military parents to get copies of their child’s medical records to review them before the child joins the military — based on what happened to his son.
Cozza spoke July 24 at the national training conference of the Military Child Education Coalition about the issue of how these medical records are used. He noted his opinions and comments were made as a private citizen, not representing the Defense Department.
Officials need to rethink how the records are being used, Cozza said, from a variety of perspectives.
One military wife who attended the session said her family has reviewed her son’s dependent medical record before he seeks to join the military, and they’re attempting to address some of the discrepancies.
More:
https://www.militarytimes.com/pay-benefits/2019/07/26/heres-one-thing-military-parents-should-do-before-their-child-joins-the-military/
