Flood of PTSD cases coming, scientists warn
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/06/20/ptsd-va-pentagon-scientists-institute-medicine/10764991/
Flood of PTSD cases coming, scientists warn
Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY 2:35 p.m. EDT June 20, 2014
The Pentagon and VA are not ready for a potential flood of war-related post-traumatic stress disorder among troops and veterans, particularly from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, a panel of leading scientists report in a study released Friday.
"We are at the cusp of a wave of PTSD," says Sandro Galea, a physician, epidemiologist and professor at Columbia University who chaired the committee of 16 experts for the Institute of Medicine, the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences.
The committee, directed by Congress, spent four years producing a 300-page report on how the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs handle PTSD.
"We greatly appreciate and respect the extensive scientific review and insights of the Institute of Medicine committee," says Robert Jesse, the VA acting undersecretary for health. "We will address these recommendations."