BVA9502661 DOCKET NO. 93-11 186 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Togus, Maine THE ISSUE Entitlement to an increased rating for generalized anxiety disorder, currently rated 50 percent disabling. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: AMVETS WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL Appellant ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Mark J. Swiatek, Counsel REMAND The veteran had active duty from September 1951 to August 1952. This appeal comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a December 1992 decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Togus, Maine, which increased the disability rating for generalized anxiety disorder from 10 percent to 50 percent, effective in July 1992. The veteran is also in receipt of a protected 10 percent rating for nummular eczema. His combined disability rating is 60 percent. In a statement dated in June 1993, the veteran's representative specifically raised the issue of entitlement to a total rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities. The matter has not been addressed by the RO. On reviewing the record, in particular the November 1992 VA psychiatric examination and the testimony presented at a March 1993 hearing, the Board finds that additional development would be helpful to clarify the impact of the psychiatric symptoms on the veteran's ability to function. The VA's duty to assist the appellant in the development of facts pertinent to a claim requires obtaining contemporaneous comprehensive examinations and relevant treatment records to ensure that a decision rendered in the claim is an informed one. In view of the foregoing, it is the opinion of the Board that further development, as indicated below, is desirable. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED to the RO for the following actions: 1. The RO should contact the veteran and obtain the names and addresses of all health care providers from whom he has received treatment for his psychiatric dis- ability in recent years. Thereafter, the RO should obtain legible copies of all records which have not already been obtained. Once obtained, all records must be associated with the claims folder. 2. The RO should provide the veteran with an application for increased compensation based upon individual unemployability resulting from service-connected disability. 3. The RO should arrange for the veteran to be scheduled for a VA psychiatric examination to determine the severity of the service-connected psychiatric disability. The claims folder must be made available to the examiner prior to the evaluation so that the examiner may review the pertinent historical data contained therein. The examiner should utilize the pertinent data in the claims folder in order to obtain a true picture of the progress of the veteran's psychiatric disorder. The examination should be comprehensive enough to determine the nature and extent of all psychiatric symptoms. The psychiatrist should utilize any psychological testing deemed helpful in evaluating the severity of the psychiatric symptoms. Based upon a review of the record and the examination, the physician should provide a Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale code and discuss the meaning of the GAF scale code assigned. In addition, the examiner should also discuss the impairment of the veteran's ability to establish and maintain relationships as well as the reduction in initiative, efficiency and reliability levels which may be attributable to the generalized anxiety disorder (as distinct from impairment attributable to other conditions). The examination should be performed and reported in accordance with the VA Physician's Guide for Disability Evaluation Examinations. 4. When the above development has been completed the RO should readjudicate the veteran's claim. If it has not been rendered moot, the claim for a total rating based on individual unemployability on account of service-connected disability should also be adjudicated. The rating should reflect consideration of the applicability of the provisions of 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.321(b)(1) and 4.16(a) or (b), whichever is applicable. See Fisher v. Principi, 4 Vet.App. 57 (1993). After the veteran and his representative have been given the applicable time in which to respond, the case should be returned to the Board for further appellate consideration, if otherwise in order. By this REMAND, the Board intimates no opinion as to any final outcome warranted. No action is required of the veteran until he is notified by the RO. GARY L. GICK Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals The Board of Veterans' Appeals Administrative Procedures Improvement Act, Pub. L. No. 103-271, § 6, 108 Stat. 740, ___ (1994), permits a proceeding instituted before the Board to be assigned to an individual member of the Board for a deter- mination. This proceeding has been assigned to an individual member of the Board. Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 1991), only a decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States Court of Veterans Appeals. This action has been taken in accordance with the Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 1994, Pub. L. No. 103-446, § 303, 108 Stat. 4645, ___ (1994), and is in the nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of the Board on the merits of your appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (1993).