VA has a heightened duty to obtain medical records from other federal agencies, including VA medical centers, military treatment facilities, and other government hospitals. Unlike private medical records where VA simply asks you to authorize release, federal records come with a stronger obligation. VA must make as many requests as necessary to obtain these records and cannot decide your claim without them unless VA determines the records do not exist or that further attempts would be futile. If you have been treated at any VA medical center, those records should be easily accessible through the VA electronic health record system. However, older records or records from facilities that have closed may require additional effort to locate. Records from military treatment facilities, including overseas installations, can be obtained through the appropriate military branch. If you were treated at a Department of Defense facility after separation, those records are maintained separately from your service treatment records. You should provide VA with as much detail as possible about where and when you received treatment, including the name of the facility, approximate dates, and the condition being treated. This helps VA locate the records more quickly.
Note: This article references sections of the VA's M21-1 Adjudication Procedures Manual. The VA periodically reorganizes the M21-1 and section numbers may have changed since this article was written. For the most current section references, visit the VA's public M21-1 Web Automated Reference Material System (WARMS).