Citation Nr: 18149728
Decision Date: 11/13/18	Archive Date: 11/13/18

DOCKET NO. 15-18 744
DATE:	November 13, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to increased rating for anxiety disorder in excess of 30 percent is remanded. 
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty from July 1989 to August 1991.
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2014 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in New York, NY.
The Veteran was scheduled for a hearing on May 30, 2018 and withdrew her request on May 25, 2018.  
The Veteran’s most recent VA psychiatric examination was in March 2015, over three and a half years ago.  Pertinent VA medical records, although scant, reflect that she reported having suicidal thoughts in January 2017, which suggests possible worsening of her service-connected psychiatric disability.  Thus, a remand is warranted to avoid the Veteran a new examination.  
On remand, the RO should also obtain the Veteran’s updated VA treatment records and any private records identified by the Veteran as pertinent to the claim.
The matter is REMANDED for the following actions:
1. Obtain the Veteran’s updated VA treatment records and any private medical records she identifies as pertinent to the claim.  All reasonable attempts should be made to obtain such records.  If any records cannot be obtained after reasonable efforts have been made, issue a formal determination that such records do not exist or that further efforts to obtain such records would be futile, which should be documented in the claims file.  
2. After completing directive #1, arrange for the Veteran to undergo an updated VA psychiatric examination to evaluate the current severity of her service-connected anxiety disorder. 

 
DELYVONNE M. WHITEHEAD
Acting Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	Yonelle Moore Lee, Associate Counsel