Comparison of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder among three department of Veterans Affairs medical centers

The objective of the present study was to compare three specialized treatment programs for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in different Veterans Affairs medical centers, in terms of the format of therapeutic services and the medications prescribed for PTSD. Chart review methods were used to examine medical records for 50 patients from each facility over a 6-month period. Results indicated that the medications prescribed were fairly consistent across sites, although they were not always consistent with treatment recommendations. Therapy formats for two of the facilities were quite different, with one offering more case management services and the other offering more intensive individual and group therapy services. Additional research is needed to broaden our knowledge of how PTSD is being treated currently and to study the effectiveness of the treatment strategies being used.