More Screening
Screening veterans with MS for cognitive, emotional and health-related behavioral issues can help ensure more veterans receive the services they need.
“There has been work to increase the frequency of screening procedures for these issues,” Gromisch said. “For instance, the National MS Society, with endorsements from the Consortium of MS Centers and the International MS Cognition Society, recommend that, at the minimum, persons with MS (who are clinically stable) should be getting early baseline cognitive screening with annual reevaluation with the same measure.”2
The National MS Society offers a brochure with recommendations for cognitive and depression screening as well as validated screening tools. The brochure also includes recommendations on when a neuropsychological referral might be appropriate and points to discuss with patients. The American Academy of Neurology has recommendations for screening for emotional disorders for patients with MS, too.
While the study provided powerful insights as to how many and which veterans with MS utilize neuropsychological and psychotherapeutic services, there’s much more to learn, Gromisch cautioned.
“Since this study focused on veterans with MS who use the VA, there is a need to investigate utilization rates among veterans who do not use the VA and nonveterans, and whether there are differences in service utilization,” she noted. “In addition, we need to examine the referral rates for these services, (using electronic health record data rather than solely retrospective estimates), which will provide us with more insight into who is being referred to these services and potential barriers that may affect receipt of services.”
- Gromisch ES, Kulas JF, Altalib H, et al. Neuropsychological assessments and psychotherapeutic services in veterans with multiple sclerosis: Rates of utilization and their associations with socio-demographics and clinical characteristics using Veterans Health Administration-based data. Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2020;43:102220. doi:10.1016/j.msard.2020.102220
- Kalb R, Beier M, Benedict RH, et al. Recommendations for cognitive screening and management in multiple sclerosis care. Multiple Sclerosis Journal. 2018;24(13):1665-1680.
