Veterans Medical Advisor
drbash@doctor.com
Providing Independent Medical Evaluations
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Dr. Bash is a veteran of
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Expert Dr. Bash on both ABC News & CBS News!
Bethesda Doctor Craig Bash has spent decades independently evaluating soldiers fighting their VA ratings. Eric Hunter is now one of them. make a big difference in his overall rating,” Bash told ABC 7. Click to view full article covered by ABC 7 News
Meet Dr. Bash, the Veterans Medical Advisor
VETERANS MED ADVISORHelping Veterans with their VA Rating! If you are an honorably discharged veteran, you served your country well and you earned certain benefits. These benefits include the right to receive compensation and medical care for any disabling medical condition that was incurred or aggravated while you were in service. Sad to say, sometimes it can be difficult for the veteran to obtain the earned benefits guaranteed by law. Like all bureaucracies, the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) is unyielding in how it applies federal law that governs a veteran’s right to compensation. If your disability claim is not clearly supported by your medical records—with the exact evidence VA requires—you will be denied benefits. Veterans need a recognized medical expert who knows the VA system. As a disabled veteran himself and a respected, board certified physician plus his is 11 years postgraduate education, 30 years experience as a physician, and his VA background adds irrefutable credibility to each Independent Medical Examination (IME) he painstakingly prepares. Dr. Bash adds further insight in dissecting the complicated and extensive VA claim process. Dr. Bash often finds relevant medical information in a patient’s file that previously has been overlooked. Frequently, the patient’s diagnosis is modified or changed, based on Dr. Bash’s review of the full medical records. An accurate diagnosis leads toward a fair and rational analysis of the case. And Dr Bash’s thorough review allows him to give a better assessment of the patient’s level of disability. (Note: To reach this end, Dr. Bash asks many questions and will need a copy of the patient’s full medical record.) Careful and early attention to the details of your case could save years of appeals, and help you arrive at a higher disability rating sooner. However, it is never too late to get an independent medical evaluation. Added to his medical and administrative expertise, Dr. Bash has extensive experience as an expert trial witness. He is available for reviews and personal appearances for Bureau of Veterans' Appeals hearings and military medical or physical evaluation boards (MEB and PEB). He also can assist in obtaining dependents and survivors’ benefits, form 1151 claims for VA Hospital mal-practice, death and DIC claims for veteran's family members. He can even write an IME for Veteran hospital mal-practice Tort claims. Dr. Bash knows the VA both inside and out. His Story: Dr. Bash was injured in service in 1984, requiring a five month stay as an In-Patient at Boston West Roxbury VAMC teaching hospital (part of the Harvard teaching hospital affiliations). He spent the next seven years, subsequent his cervical spine injury, unrelentingly developing and appealing his personal 100% VA benefits. In the early 1990s, as a medical physician (Resident), at the Washington, D.C., VA hospital, Dr. Bash worked from his wheelchair as he cared for its numerous disabled veterans. In the latter 1990s, he worked as an accredited VA Claims Agent for both the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) and the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) foundations in their legal appeals sections. In the early 2000s, he trained at the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland, performing experimental MRI treatment trial research on patients with Multiple Sclerosis and spine injuries. These two diagnoses are prevalent among VA patients, and they both require intensive Physician/Nurse expertise. Over the past 25 years, Dr. Bash has often provided his expert testimony to BVA Judges at live hearings as an Associate Professor at the Military Medical School (USUHS). He has produced numerous expert medical/legal opinions for other service organizations (American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Purple Heart, Viet Nam Veterans of America, Wounded Warriors, Veterans Insider, and state Veteran representatives) and numerous DC/national law firms. Additionally, he has provided free outreach medical opinions to homeless veterans. As a Director of Medical Affairs at the PVA, Dr. Bash performed multiple Quality of Care site visits (boots on the ground) to most of the VA’s largest tertiary medical centers. During this period (2-3 years), he visited several dozen hospitals throughout the US, reviewing quality of care while gathering bedside clinical data for veterans’ claims. He generated a Site Visit Report for each trip, which was sent to the Secretary of the VA and his executive staff for quality improvement. All of these experiences are invaluably useful in the production and analysis of Dr. Bash’s independent Nexus opinions, allowing him to review most all types of disabled veterans’ claims for both the VA and Social Security. A representative sample of his Board case claim awards is attached to this web site (see Appeals BVA cases). Also, please examine his 600+ BVA case log (dating back to 1996) on the VA’s website by searching www.va.gov Board of Appeal cases (key words Dr. Bash, Craig Bash MD). The following is noteworthy: The best place to independently view outcomes of any medical opinion is on the VA’s web site in the sub section called Board of Appeals cases. The Court of Veteran Appeals site also lists a limited percent of BVA cases that have been appealed forward. Dr. Bash’s life altering In-Patient convalescence; his personal (seven years) 100% VA claim appeals process; his physician in training; his PVA hospital site visit reporting; his NIH training; his BVA claim representative experiences; and, his dedicated work as an Associate Professor/Veterans Medical Advisor have given him unique perspectives and insights in to the internal care/claim workings of the VA. All combined this has allowed Dr. Bash to become the original VA insider. Recent Article about Dr. Bash's Services:Quadriplegic Doctor Helps Other Veterans Dr. Bash invites you to browse this Web site to find out how he can help you It should be noted that spine cases are difficult to understand due to their complexity and a recent New England Journal of Medicine -NEJM (March 26, 2015 page 1247) article touched on this issue by stating the following: “…. MRI should be ordered by clinicians who can interpret the results; it is discouraged at the primary care level…”. The NEJM recognizes the limitations of primary care physicians and thus in this complex spine case the VA deciders should defer to the spine experts and the neuro-imaging.
[You can confirm Dr. Bash’s credentials at HealthGrades.com. A fee is charged for this service, but please be advised that Dr. Bash is not affiliated with this service provider, except as one of its listed physicians. He does not receive any proceeds from this, and it is available simply as a tool to verify his credentials.] Note: Remember, Dr. Bash may be available to help in the claims process for clients who suffer from PTSD or other psychiatric disorders as he works with several psychologists and psychiatrists.
Dr. Bash is a busy Washington, D.C. physician so please be persistent in contacting him. |
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