Sec. 104. DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICAL EVALUATION PROTOCOL
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## SEC. 104 DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICAL EVALUATION PROTOCOL **[**[38 U.S.C. 1117 note](/us/usc/t38/s1117)**]** ###
(a)Uniform Medical Evaluation Protocol ####
(1)The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall develop and implement a uniform and comprehensive medical evaluation protocol that will ensure appropriate medical assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of Persian Gulf War veterans who are suffering from illnesses the origins of which are (as of the date of the enactment of this Act) unknown and that may be attributable to service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War. The protocol shall include an evaluation of complaints relating to illnesses involving the reproductive system. ####
(2)If such a protocol is not implemented before the end of the 120-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, before the end of such period, submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report as to why such a protocol has not yet been developed. ####
(3)#####
(A)The Secretary shall ensure that the evaluation under the protocol developed under this section is available at all Department medical centers that have the capability of providing the medical assessment, diagnosis, and treatment required under the protocol. #####
(B)The Secretary may enter into contracts with non-Department medical facilities for the provision of the evaluation under the protocol. #####
(C)In the case of a veteran whose residence is distant from a medical center described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary may provide the evaluation through a Department medical center described in that subparagraph and, in such a case, may provide the veteran the travel and incidental expenses therefor pursuant to the provisions of section 111 of title 38, United States Code. ####
(4)#####
(A)If the Secretary is unable to diagnose the symptoms or illness of a veteran provided an evaluation, or if the symptoms or illness of a veteran do not respond to treatment provided by the Secretary, the Secretary may use the authority in section 17031 of title 38, United States Code, in order to provide for the veteran to receive diagnostic tests or treatment at a non-Department medical facility that may have the capability of diagnosing or treating the symptoms or illness of the veteran. The Secretary may provide the veteran the travel and incidental expenses therefor pursuant to the provisions of section 111 of title 38, United States Code. 1Section 144(a)(3) of Public Law 115–182 provides for an amendment to strike “in section 1703” and insert “in sections 1703A, 8111, and 8153”. Subsection
(b)of such section 144 provides “[t]he amendments made by subsection
(a)shall take effect on the date described in section 101(b).”. Paragraphs
(1)and
(2)of section 101(b) of such Public Law provides: “(1) the date that is 30 days after the date on which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs submits the report required under section 101(q)(2) of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–146; 38 U.S.C. 1701 note); or
(2)the date on which the Secretary promulgates regulations pursuant to subsection (c).”. #####
(B)The Secretary shall request from each non-Department medical facility that examines or treats a veteran under this paragraph such information relating to the diagnosis or treatment as the Secretary considers appropriate. ####
(5)In each year after the implementation of the protocol, the Secretary shall enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences under which agreement appropriate experts shall review the adequacy of the protocol and its implementation by the Department of Veterans Affairs. ###
(b)Relationship to Other Comprehensive Clinical Evaluation Protocols The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall ensure that the information collected through the protocol described in this section is collected and maintained in a manner that permits the effective and efficient cross-reference of that information with information collected and maintained through the comprehensive clinical protocols of the Department of Defense for Persian Gulf War veterans. ###
(c)Case Definitions and Diagnoses The Secretary shall develop case definitions or diagnoses for illnesses associated with the service described in subsection (a)(1). The Secretary shall develop such definitions or diagnoses at the earliest possible date.
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Sec. 104
DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICAL EVALUATION PROTOCOL
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