Expert: Treat to restore brain health – not just 'new normal' – for injured vets

Dr. Robert Beckman is co-founder and executive director of TreatNOW.org, an organization that has had success using hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to treat concussions, TBI, and PTSD. The former Air Force KC-135 pilot and veteran of the Vietnam War acknowledges that service members are typically required to undergo a medical out-processing screening. However, as he tells American Family News, he has questions about those medical exams:

Are they adequate and thorough?

Are they performed by qualified and authorized personnel (i.e., neurologists, psychiatrists, physiatrists, and neurosurgeons)?

Do they reflect objective or subjective criteria?

Can you trust either the written records or the subjective recounting by the patient?

Unfortunately, Beckman explains, his experience tells him the out-processing medical exam does not accurately reflect the current state of brain health. "Service members hide their concussions, TBI, and PTSD while on active duty to avoid jeopardizing their careers," he shares. "They don't want the stigma of being a mental health casualty."