Citation Nr: 18145542
Decision Date: 10/30/18	Archive Date: 10/29/18

DOCKET NO. 14-14 344
DATE:	October 30, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to service connection for a disorder associated with asbestos exposure is remanded.
Entitlement to an initial rating higher than 30 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty from April 1963 to February1967.  This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from April 2012 and December 2012 rating decisions issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).  This case was remanded by the Board in February 2018 for additional development and readjudication.  However, because the required compliance with the remand instructions has not been achieved, these issues are being remanded again.
During the March 2017 Board hearing, the Veteran testified that he had received treatment for his COPD and emphysema from a private pulmonologist in New Jersey and that for several years he had been enrolled in a counseling program with a private psychologist.  The agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) was instructed to obtain complete copies of these records.  See February 2018 Board Remand.
In response to an April 2018 letter from the AOJ requesting these records, the Veteran submitted a signed VA Form 21-4142, Authorization to Disclose Information to the Department of Veterans Affairs, accompanied by a VA Form 21-4142a, General Release for Medical Provider Information.  Although the Form 21-4142a was not completed, the Veteran submitted business cards with the facility names and addresses for Dr. Higgins, the pulmonologist and Dr. Evers, the psychologist.  However, the authorizations were rejected on the basis that the Veteran provided incomplete PHP (private health care provider) information and noting that the request for these records must be worked via the traditional process.  See May 2018 Medical Records Request Reject Notice from the VA Private Medical Records Retrieval (PMR) Center.  The file contains no indication that the AOJ mad any additional attempts to obtain these records.  
The Board notes that the Reject Notice did not state that the records were unavailable, only that the PMR Retrieval Program requires that the AOJ obtain the records “via the traditional process” by requesting and obtaining the records directly.  Furthermore, because the Veteran has supplied the contact information, the Board finds that the AOJ failed to make reasonable efforts to obtain private medical records, and that remand is necessary to obtain them.  See 38 U.S.C. § 5103A(b)(1) (providing that the Secretary shall make reasonable efforts to obtain relevant private records that the claimant adequately identifies); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(1) (providing that reasonable efforts to obtain private records will generally consist of an initial request for records and at least one follow-up request).  
Although VA’s duty to assist requires the AOJ to obtain these records, the Veteran is also free to obtain the records directly from these medical providers himself and submit them to the AOJ, if he believes it will speed up the process of obtaining them.  
The matters are REMANDED for the following action:
Using the contact information from the business cards provided by the Veteran, contact Dr. Higgins and Dr. Evers and request all treatment records pertaining to the Veteran.  Document all requests for information as well as all responses in the claims file and notify the Veteran in accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(e).
 
THOMAS H. O'SHAY
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	J.R. Bryant