Veterans Medical Advisor

                                                                            drbash@doctor.com

                   

               What About PTSD or Other Psychiatric Disorders?

Dr. Bash is a veteran of


Dr. Bash is able to make a medical nexus for VA types of PTSD veteran disability/benefit claims that relate to traumatic brain injury (TBI/head trauma/tumors) that are known to cause PTSD and associated VA medical disabilities. He also has a list of colleagues that can help with other types of psychiatric veteran disability claims for VA medical benefits. Please contact Dr. Bash directly for a list of current preferred psychiatric veteran medical advisors.

PTSD Info



§ 4.130 Schedule of ratings-mental disorders.

The nomenclature employed in this portion of the rating schedule is based upon the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-IV). Rating agencies must be thoroughly familiar with this manual to properly implement the directives in §4.125 through §4.129 and to apply the general rating formula for mental disorders in §4.130. The schedule for rating for mental disorders is set forth as follows:
 
Rating
Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders
9201 Schizophrenia, disorganized type
9202 Schizophrenia, catatonic type
9203 Schizophrenia, paranoid type
9204 Schizophrenia, undifferentiated type
9205 Schizophrenia, residual type; other and unspecified types
9208 Delusional disorder
9210 Psychotic disorder, not otherwise specified (atypical psychosis)
9211 Schizoaffective disorder
Delirium, Dementia, and Amnestic and Other Cognitive Disorders
9300 Delirium
9301 Dementia due to infection (HIV infection, syphilis, or other systemic or intracranial infections)
9304 Dementia due to head trauma
9305 Vascular dementia
9310 Dementia of unknown etiology
9312 Dementia of the Alzheimer's type
9326 Dementia due to other neurologic or general medical conditions (endocrine disorders, metabolic disorders, Pick's disease, brain tumors, etc.) or that are substance-induced (drugs, alcohol, poisons)
9327 Organic mental disorder, other (including personality change due to a general medical condition)
Anxiety Disorders
9400 Generalized anxiety disorder
9403 Specific (simple) phobia; social phobia
9404 Obsessive compulsive disorder
9410 Other and unspecified neurosis
9411 Posttraumatic stress disorder
9412 Panic disorder and/or agoraphobia
9413 Anxiety disorder, not otherwise specified
Dissociative Disorders
9416 Dissociative amnesia; dissociative fugue; dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality disorder)
9417 Depersonalization disorder
Somatoform Disorders
9421 Somatization disorder
9422 Pain disorder
9423 Undifferentiated somatoform disorder
9424 Conversion disorder
9425 Hypochondriasis
Mood Disorders
9431 Cyclothymic disorder
9432 Bipolar disorder
9433 Dysthymic disorder
9434 Major depressive disorder
9435 Mood disorder, not otherwise specified
Chronic Adjustment Disorder
9440 Chronic adjustment disorder
General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders:
Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name 100
Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships 70
Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- and long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships 50
Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal), due to such symptoms as: depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, recent events) 30
Occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms which decrease work efficiency and ability to perform occupational tasks only during periods of significant stress, or; symptoms controlled by continuous medication 10
A mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough either to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication 0
Eating Disorders
9520 Anorexia nervosa
9521 Bulimia nervosa
Rating Formula for Eating Disorders:
Self-induced weight loss to less than 80 percent of expected minimum weight, with incapacitating episodes of at least six weeks total duration per year, and requiring hospitalization more than twice a year for parenteral nutrition or tube feeding 100
Self-induced weight loss to less than 85 percent of expected minimum weight with incapacitating episodes of six or more weeks total duration per year 60
Self-induced weight loss to less than 85 percent of expected minimum weight with incapacitating episodes of more than two but less than six weeks total duration per year 30
Binge eating followed by self-induced vomiting or other measures to prevent weight gain, or resistance to weight gain even when below expected minimum weight, with diagnosis of an eating disorder and incapacitating episodes of up to two weeks total duration per year 10
Binge eating followed by self-induced vomiting or other measures to prevent weight gain, or resistance to weight gain even when below expected minimum weight, with diagnosis of an eating disorder but without incapacitating episodes


 
Dr. Bash is a busy Washington, D.C. physician working on Veteran (VA) disability benefit claims and providing medical care to veterans so please be persistent in contacting him.

Dr. Bash may be available to help in the claims process for clients who suffer from PTSD or other psychiatric disorders as he works with several psychologists and psychiatrists.

Dr. Bash does veteran disability and veteran benefit claims in order of urgency as some patients have acute medical problems or imminent hearings with the VA Board of Veterans Appeals( BVA) or regional offices. If you have an emergency situation which cannot wait please notify him of your emergency on his voice mail (301-767-9525) and tell him that it is urgent and his message service will send him a red printed-urgent note he will get back to you ASAP. Additionally, a one page fax to his desk with your call back contact numbers is an effective way to contact him and that can be done by using the following numbers 530-267-8183 or 530-230-2888 or at drbash@doctor.com.

drbash@doctor.com

______________________

Craig N. Bash M.D., M.B.A.

Neuro-Radiologist and Associate Professor

Uniformed Services School of Medicine

NPI/UPIN-1225123318

4938 Hampden Lane
Bethesda, Md 20814

Cell/Text 240-506-1556
Fax 301-951-9106