BVA9502730 DOCKET NO. 93-04 311 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St. Petersburg, Florida THE ISSUE Entitlement to an increased (compensable) rating for atopic dermatitis. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL Appellant ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Alberto H. Zapata, Associate Counsel INTRODUCTION The veteran had periods of service from October 1944 to August 1946 and from September 1948 to April 1952. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in St. Petersburg , Florida. REMAND The veteran contends that the dermatitis from which he now suffers and for which he is service connected is severe enough to warrant a compensable rating. The most recent medical report in the claims file is a January 1991 oncology examination of the veteran at the VA facility in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and in that report the examiner makes a diagnosis of dermatitis/atopic eczema. The claims file also contains a March 1989 exam report in which the examiner noted that a rash was covering the veteran's entire body and from this observation he made a diagnosis of dermatitis. There are more recent examination reports of the veteran in the claims file but they pertain to his treatment for prostatic cancer and related complications; there is no examination report nor any evidence in the record that indicates that the veteran was given an up-to-date compensation and pension exam for the purposes of evaluating the current severity of his dermatitis. The Board finds that such an examination is warranted. Therefore, the Board finds that further development is needed in order to properly adjudicate the veteran's claim. The Board notes that as part of the VA's duty to assist the veteran in the development of his claim, it is incumbent upon the RO to see that the veteran is examined in the active stage of his dermatitis. When a skin condition is prone to flare-ups and thus active and inactive stages, the medical examination of the veteran performed to assess his claim must be conducted during an active stage of the disease in order to provide a fully informed and adequate record for the purposes of a rating decision. Ardison v. Brown, 6 Vet.App. 408, 407-08 (1994). Accordingly, the case is REMANDED to the RO for the following actions: 1. The RO should request that the veteran identify, to the extent possible, all health care providers from whom he has received treatment in recent years for dermatitis. Then, with authorization from the veteran, the RO should attempt to obtain copies of all treatment records identified by the veteran which are not currently of record. 2. Then, the RO should arrange for a VA examination of the veteran by a board certified dermatologist, if available, to determine the nature and extent of the veteran's atopic dermatitis. All indicated studies should be performed. The RO should attempt to coordinate the examination so that the veteran is assessed during a flare-up of his dermatitis condition. The claims file must be made available to the examining physician for review before the examination of the veteran. 3. Thereafter, in light of the evidence obtained pursuant to the requested development, the RO should readjudicate the claim of entitlement to an increased (compensable) rating for atopic dermatitis. If the benefits sought on appeal are not granted to the veteran's satisfaction or if a timely notice of disagreement is received with respect to any other matter, the veteran should be provided a Supplemental Statement of the Case on all issues in appellate status and afforded a reasonable opportunity to respond. Thereafter, the case should be returned to the Board for further appellate action, if otherwise in order. No action is required of the veteran until he is otherwise notified by the RO. By this remand the Board intimates no opinion as to the final decision warranted. ROBERT E. SULLIVAN 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 determination. 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 remand 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).