Reassessment and Follow-Up Care

The Post Deployment Health Assessment, or PDHA, is the military’s global health screening that occurs when a service member returns from an overseas deployment. The purpose of this screening is to review the service member's current physical health, mental health, or psychosocial issues commonly associated with deployments, special medications taken during the deployment, possible deployment-related occupational/environmental exposures, and to discuss deployment-related health concerns.

The form includes questions to screen for TBI. The first of these questions asks about the occurrence of any explosions, vehicular accidents, bullet or fragment wounds, or other injuries. The second asks if any of these events caused a head injury that resulted in loss of consciousness, alteration of consciousness, or post-traumatic amnesia. The third question asks how many head injuries occurred during deployment.