I wanted to share my experience with the USPHS Medical Board so that others know what to expect and can have the best outcome. In my experience (and those I have talked with) the board takes about 7 months to hear your case. Sending in records from my providers to the board was very frustrating for me. The board requests that you contact your provider and have them send records directly to MAB. I requested my records to be sent from my providers to MAB but when I followed up with MAB (multiple times) they said they did not get them. I called my providers and they said they had sent them to the correct fax number. I then (on multiple occasions) had my providers refax the medical records. When I would request a list of medical records that MAB had obtained they would be vague about what they had and in multiple instances would not return my emails. I would ask MAB to follow up with me when they received an important fax and they never did. I find this odd because to fax documents in our eOPFs they can email us right away indicating it is in our record but cannot set up the same system for medical records.
I decided to appeal my case with a lawyer because of the low rating I had received. I also felt that the MAB had communicated poorly on such an important issue and that I did not have an advocate on my side. Before my first hearing I had no idea what the Medical Board (who are different from those that work at MAB) was going to see in my records. MAB has two medical officers that sift through your records and decided what the board will see. When I appealed I saw what medical documents the initial board had seen and significant documents were missing-documents I had repeatedly sent to MAB. It appeared as if the records where cherry picked to paint the picture less severe than it was. Many of the staff at MAB have been there for a long time and know how to play the game. They can potentially influence the board members (who are USPHS officers within the area with normal PHS jobs).
When I received the initial board report, it was discovered that the board had not rated my condition correctly and had missed other significant conditions that I had. I had hired a lawyer that specialized in military disability boards. He knew exactly how to rate my condition and what medical evidence to obtain. He was very knowledgeable about the VA disability rating system used by MAB and an advocate I could trust. I cannot stress this enough, GET A LAWYER THAT SPECIALIZES IN PHS MEDICAL REVIEW BOARDS (Jason Perry, Military Disability Attorney). There are lawyers out there that do not know or have enough experience with military medial review boards and can hurt your case. I was fortunate enough to have a positive outcome at the appeals board because of my lawyer.
I hope this helps those PHS officers going through an unexpected difficult medical condition and keep up the good fight.
I decided to appeal my case with a lawyer because of the low rating I had received. I also felt that the MAB had communicated poorly on such an important issue and that I did not have an advocate on my side. Before my first hearing I had no idea what the Medical Board (who are different from those that work at MAB) was going to see in my records. MAB has two medical officers that sift through your records and decided what the board will see. When I appealed I saw what medical documents the initial board had seen and significant documents were missing-documents I had repeatedly sent to MAB. It appeared as if the records where cherry picked to paint the picture less severe than it was. Many of the staff at MAB have been there for a long time and know how to play the game. They can potentially influence the board members (who are USPHS officers within the area with normal PHS jobs).
When I received the initial board report, it was discovered that the board had not rated my condition correctly and had missed other significant conditions that I had. I had hired a lawyer that specialized in military disability boards. He knew exactly how to rate my condition and what medical evidence to obtain. He was very knowledgeable about the VA disability rating system used by MAB and an advocate I could trust. I cannot stress this enough, GET A LAWYER THAT SPECIALIZES IN PHS MEDICAL REVIEW BOARDS (Jason Perry, Military Disability Attorney). There are lawyers out there that do not know or have enough experience with military medial review boards and can hurt your case. I was fortunate enough to have a positive outcome at the appeals board because of my lawyer.
I hope this helps those PHS officers going through an unexpected difficult medical condition and keep up the good fight.