VA and DoD to Test Combined Physical

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Defense Department (DoD) signed a memorandum Nov. 6 to test a single physical examination to be used by both agencies. The pilot, due to start this month, will include service members at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, and Malcolm Grow Medical Center at Andrews Air Force Base. The VA will perform medical evaluations based on its system for disability exams, and will include examinations for medical conditions described by military physicians that determine the member’s fitness for duty. The pilot program grew from recommendations of the President’s Commission on Care for America‘s Returning Wounded Warriors, co-chaired by former Sen. Robert Dole and former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala.