UPDATE: This opinion was my opinion and I feel a good opinion when I posted it, but the VA’s policies have since changed (I no longer suggest never using telehealth). Here is the old blog post:
This is just my opinion and I’m a psychologist, not an attorney or VA/ VBA policy expert. However, at this point I think it is a good idea not to pay for any telehealth examinations or situations where a doctor completes a DBQ for you but never examines you in person. It seems like this is a violation of VBA policy and could potentially get your claim triggered for fraud. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t pay for someone to do a records review remotely (ex: for a nexus letter). It also doesn’t mean you couldn’t pay to attend an in-person examination. For further reading see this VA OIG Report Telehealth Public-Use Questionnaires Were Used Improperly to Determine Disability Benefits as well as this related article summarizing it Granting VA Disability Claims by Remote Questionnaire Led to Fraud, Report Shows
Thanks, to learn more about getting medical records reviews or an in-person examination from psychologist Todd Finnerty, Psy.D. go to www.toddfinnerty.com