According to Army regulations, the Army is to meet the annual  medical screening requirement by reviewing the medical certificate  required of each early-deploying reservist. The Army Has Not Collected and Maintained All Required Medical and Dental Information on Early-Deploying Reservists

The Army has not consistently carried out the requirements that early- deploying reservists undergo 5- or 2-year physical examinations, and the  required dental examination. At the seven Army early-deploying reserve units  we visited, about 66 percent of the medical records were available for our  review. At the seven early-deploying units  we visited, we found that about 49 percent of the reservists whose records  were available for review did not have a record of a current dental  examination. Periodic Physical and Dental Examinations Are Valuable for Assessing Health Status and Provide Beneficial Information to the Army and VA

Medical experts recommend physical and dental examinations as an  effective means of assessing health. Because Army early-deploying reservists need to be healthy  to fulfill their professional responsibilities, periodic examinations are  useful for assessing whether they can perform their assigned duties. If the  Army does not know the health condition of its early-deploying reservists,  and if it expects some of them to be unfit and incapable of performing  their duties, the Army may be required to maintain a larger number of  reservists than it would otherwise need in order to fulfill its military and  humanitarian missions. However, the Army has not fully complied with statutory  requirements to assess and monitor the medical and dental status of early- deploying reservists. Consequently, the Army does not know how many of  them can perform their assigned duties and are ready for deployment. While our work focused on the Army’s efforts to assess the health status of  its early-deploying reservists, it also has implications for veterans. Implementing our recommendations that DOD comply with the statutory  requirements, which DOD has agreed to, will also be of benefit to VA. VA’s  ability to perform its missions to provide medical care to veterans and  compensate them for their service-connected disabilities could be  hampered if the Army’s medical surveillance system contains inadequate  or incomplete information. Related GAO Products

Defense Health Care: Army Needs to Assess the Health Status of All  Early-Deploying Reservists. GAO-03-549T. Defense Health Care: Physical Exams and Dental Care Following the  Persian Gulf War.
Why GAO Did This Study

During the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War, health problems prevented the deployment of a significant number of Army reservists. As required by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002, GAO reported on the Army's efforts to assess the health status of its early-deploying reservists (Defense Health Care: Army Needs to Assess the Health Status of All Early-Deploying Reservists ( GAO-03-437 , Apr. 15, 2003)). GAO was asked to testify on its findings on the Army's health status assessments efforts and the implications of those assessments for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Specifically, GAO was asked to determine if the Army is collecting and maintaining information on reservists' health and review the value and advisability of providing examinations. For its report, GAO reviewed medical records at seven Army early-deploying reserve units to determine the number of required examinations that have been conducted and obtained expert opinion on the value of periodic examinations.

What GAO Found

The Army has not consistently carried out the statutory requirements for monitoring the health and dental status of its early-deploying reservists. As a result, the Army does not have sufficient information to know how many reservists can perform their assigned duties and are ready for deployment. At reserve units GAO visited, approximately 66 percent of the medical records were available for review. At those locations, GAO found that about 13 percent of the 5-year physical examinations had not been performed, about 49 percent of early-deploying reservists lacked current dental examinations, and none of the annual medical certificates required of reservists were completed by them and reviewed by the units. Medical experts recommend periodic physical and dental examinations as an effective means of assessing health. Army early-deploying reservists need to be healthy to meet the specific demands of their occupations; examinations and other health screenings can be used to identify those who cannot perform their assigned duties. Without adequate examinations, the Army may train, support, and mobilize reservists who are unfit for duty. DOD concurred with GAO's recommendations to comply with statutory requirements to conduct medical and dental examinations and provide dental treatment. VA's ability to perform its missions to provide medical care to veterans and compensate them for their service-connected disabilities could be hampered if the Army's medical surveillance system contains inadequate or incomplete information.