Questions while awaiting NARSUM

T

Tobias

PEB Forum Regular Member
Hello,

I went in for my Phase III Physical/NARSUM just about two months ago and I'm still waiting to see/sign it. I was wondering is that out of the ordinary. Someone in my unit got there's done in less than three weeks and there appointment was after mine.

Also, my x-rays were done about six months ago. Will I have to get more test done before my packet is sent to the PEB?
 
I didn't call today but the last time I did it seemed as if everything was ok. I have seen on the forum that the limit is 30 and 60 days. Any idea which one if either is correct?
 
I emailed my PEBLO this morning and she said it could take months... I thought I saw a time limit somewhere and as I wrote above, there is someone in my unit who had an appt. two weeks after me and the NARSUM is completed, signed and has been at the PEB for over a week. There process took about one month to get dictated, checked, signed and sent to the PEB.

Should I be concerned that my doctor has taken almost two months to dictate my NARSUM?
 
Yes I am.

Jan. 29 Date of Physician's Notification of MEB Action
Feb. 9 Date of initial PEBLO Counseling
July 9 Physical Exam Completed
Sept. 13 Date of MEB Physician Appointment:
 
I read in DoD Policy Memorandum Implementing the 2008 NDAA, that the process should be about 70 days max from dictation to completion of the process. What should I do? Or should I not be concerned that my NARSUM has not been dictated and it's going on two months. Will I have to begin the process again?

Sat. (Sept. 13), will be two months since I met with the physician who is doing the NARSUM dictation.

My PEBLO is very nonchalant (my view) and only said it could take months. According to the information provided that doesn't seem correct.

I copied the portion of the memo here:

E3.P1.6.5. PEB. Duty-related case processing time should not exceed 40 calendar days from the date of the receipt of the complete NARSUM/clinical summary/MEB report and case file by the PEB to the date of the determination by the reviewing authority (excluding appellate review).

E3.P1.6.6. Total Duty-Related Case Processing Time. The total processing time for duty-related cases should not exceed 70 calendar days from the date the NARSUM/clinical summary/MEB report is dictated to the date of the determination of the final review authority (excluding appellate review). For each level of appellate review after the Formal PEB, the standard timeliness goal is 30 days from the date of decision by the Formal Physical Evaluation Board.
 
Now that it has officially been two months since I met with the doctor who is supposed to dictate my NARSUM and he is not finished yet is there anything I can do about this?

All I got from my PEBLO is that this is not unusual but that seems rather vague to me. All of my information was pretty clear cut.

Others who had appointments after mine all had their packets received by the IPEB within three weeks of their meeting with their doctor. I seem to be the only one with this issue.

Is my PEBLO just giving me crap or is this true? Can the process of dictating my NARSUM really take this long? I'm very confused.

I know this process is slow but I don't want to sit around and then get a big surprise because someone dropped the ball.

If anyone has had this happen I'd love to know about it. Also, if this doesn't sound right who should I contact?
 
It is a tough situation to be in. You can try talking again with your PEBLO, though that sounds like it won't be too fruitful. You could try to "elevate" the issue by talking with patient advocate or MTF IG, for example. However, the tough thing is that you want to be careful about not making an enemy out of your doctor. I wish everyone was professional, and any complaint should not impact what is written. However, the reality is that you risk having the doctor "hurt" you by omitting or downplaying conditions. No one can say if this would be an issue or not. But I would be aware of the possibility.

I know it is frustrating, but I would tend to think you may want to be (extra) patient. You should not have to wait, but it is unlikely you can influence the timing at this point. It really is not that unusual for MEBs to drag on much longer.

Best of luck, I hope things move along for you!
 
Thanks Jason.

I just wanted to be sure that I wasn't being set up for failure. Two months just for the dictation seemed extreme. I would hate for my test to be outdated by the time the doctor finished his dictation or that it took too long and i had to do the dictation over.

I was told the entire MEB process could take nine months to over a year. I'm ok with that, it's been about nine and a half now. I'm just trying to stay on top of the process because from what I see on these forums if I don't stay on top of my case then I can't expect anyone else to do that.

Again, thanks for the information. I've breathed a sigh of relief and I'll leave my PEBLO alone for about a week or so and then I'll check up on the process of my dictation again. And, I'll keep my time line updated as well. :D
 
Update, signed NARSUM finally... That didn't take too long did it? Now I wait some more. The packet should be mailed off tomorrow and I'll update when I get it back.

Jan. 29 Date of Physician's Notification of MEB Action
Feb. 9 Date of initial PEBLO Counseling
July 9 Physical Exam Completed
Sept. 13 Date of MEB Physician Appointment
Nov. 16 Signed NARSUM
 
My Husband is in Germany and going through the same thing. His process started in April 2010, but the ball was dropped and didn't get picked back up until Aug 2010. He has completed everything needed on his part. The MEB Dr. even sent him her final draft of the NARSUM to reveiw, he said ok and that was back in early Nov. and we have not heard anything.... the PEBLO won't anwser phone calls or emails... very frustrating. Last time my husband talked with the PEBLO was end of Nov. and he stated that the Dr. signatures aren't on it yet...!!! WHAT!! REALLY!!! Now it's been the whole month of Dec.... and nothing.. this is the only thing that is holding my husband over there.. he was due to pcs last Aug.. I'm sick with my own medical problems. I am not supposed to fly. I live alone I have fell a couple of times, last time was on thanksgiving and I cracked a rib.. I am limited in driving and I had to drive myself to ER... they know all of this and is seems like they are deliberatlly not doing anything to complete the process... We are very frustrated. Can't even get the name of the PEBLO's supervisor's name....
 
latasand,

I believe your husband needs to pay a visit to his PEBLO if he can't get an answer on the phone. Also, if your husband has the number for the doctor who wrote the NARSUM I would contact her. Be advised that the doctor who wrote the NARSUM doesn't have the last say on it. It has to be approved by her boss and at least three or four other people before it is sent to the PEBLO for your husband to review it.

That's why he needs to go and have face time with the PEBLO. If his chain of command is worth their salt they can be of some help as well. I'm sure they want him gone and will do anything to expedite the process.

If that doesn't work find out who is in charge of the PEBLOs in your area. If he has to he can go to the hospital and speak with the command there. Or call if he isn't close.

By the way, are you sure the ball got dropped or was he just out of the loop. Depending on how many people are going through the process at a time at a certain location there is a serious backlog. Some places don't have enough VA personal to handle the amount of people in the program.

If your husband is Army he can go onto AKO and under self service hit medical. Once on that page he can go to his MEB/PEB and get all of the dates as to when and what happened as you see in my time line. It was copied from that page.

Also, tell him to check with others who are in the process to see if they are having long waits. At my duty station there just wasn't enough VA reps. Someone contacted congress and because it was before the election all of a sudden everyone started getting VA appts. and were being bused to other cities to get the VA physical exam completed.

I understand that this is a very long and hard process to endure, in about a month I will be a year in the process. It has not been easy but I see the light.
 
latasand,
Your husband needs to get his commander involved. I had to do just that very thing with my package; my PEBLO had my package done and approved by the local MEB in Oct, the day after it was completed he had to go TDY for 2 wks so I could not get into sign it; when he came back my package had been lost and they could not find it anywhere and because of this, my CC letter had expired and a new one had to be reaccomplished. The PEBLO had to get my PCM to print out another copy of the NARSUM and it had to be rerouted through the local MEB board. Once the 3 wk mark had hit and the package still was not complete my O-6 contacted his O-5 and the O-5 got the PEBLO's O-3 involved who emailed us after every signature, letting us know what was going on; my package was completed the very next day and overnighted to AFPC @ Randolph. I had the PEBLO supply me with the tracking number so that I could make sure I knew where it was and who signed for it @ AFPC (just in case).

My PEBLO told me that he is responsible for 185 packages where normally it is only supposed to be no more than 50-75. He was greatful that my CC got involved and said that although it can be a pain he can actually get things accomplished faster when a CC gets involved.
 
My husband went to the hospital to do a face to face with the PEBLO and the NARSUM had been signed.. We had been watching the AKO and the PEBLO has not updated the MEB/PEB site since Aug 2010. I have a question, my husband has diabetes and long story short he is now on insulin and the MEB has stated he is not fit for duty and to forward to PEB. He is not stable yet but is getting close. He has worked through this entire process, he has never called in sick. Also, he has 17 years active and wants to retire. I totallly understand that. We were told he should be able to stay in due to amount of years in, but the P3 will stay in place. Part of the P3 will state that my husband is not to be sent to places with extreme heat or cold. Also, I am in the EFMP and have a medical condition which I am not to be in extreme heat. So does anyone know where he could stationed..? Before all of the MEB started he was on assignment orders to PCS to Ft. Hood.
 
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