{"id":74853,"date":"2024-02-07T21:55:44","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T21:55:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/02\/07\/troops-are-still-waiting-weeks-for-off-base-mental-health-appointments\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:40:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:40:54","slug":"troops-are-still-waiting-weeks-for-off-base-mental-health-appointments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2024\/02\/07\/troops-are-still-waiting-weeks-for-off-base-mental-health-appointments\/","title":{"rendered":"Troops are still waiting weeks for off-base mental health appointments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The military health system has a major shortage of behavioral health providers<\/a>, which often sends service members off base to seek care from civilian providers as they wait for spots to open up at a military treatment facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the Defense Health Agency doesn\u2019t track whether service members in crisis are receiving timely care out in town, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Tuesday<\/a>, making it impossible to ensure that troops are getting the help they need<\/a> or to fix any issues they have with obtaining care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMilitary service may carry a psychological cost for active-duty service members<\/a>,\u201d according to the report, which cites research showing that mental health diagnoses among troops quadrupled between 2005 and 2021. \u201cIf left untreated, such conditions can affect deployment readiness, among other negative consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though the Defense Department is working to hire more staff, GAO found that more than 40% of the funded mental health provider positions within the military health system are vacant, creating vast shortages of care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Providers prioritize urgent appointments for troops contemplating suicide, as well as initial appointments, at the expense of follow-ups, the GAO found, but military treatment facilities are still overwhelmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Referring to off-base civilian providers is a solution, but only if civilian providers are able to see patients faster than their DoD counterparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within the military health system, the average patient was seen for an urgent appointment within 12 hours in 2022, while it takes about 15 days for a routine appointment \u2015 well within the requirements of 24 hours for a crisis and 28 days for routine care.<\/p>\n\n\n\t