Factors associated with the receipt of documented evidence-based psychotherapy for PTSD in VA

The VA has mandated that evidence-based psychotherapies (EBPs) be offered to patients with PTSD, but only a small minority of the psychotherapy delivered to VA patients with PTSD is a documented EBP. It is unknown what factors are associated with receiving a documented EBP.

Patients who received an EBP in FY2015 that was documented using a templated progress note (N = 21,808) were compared with patients who received psychotherapy for PTSD that was not documented using a template (N = 251,886).

Among psychotherapy recipients, VA patients with markers of clinical complexity such as service connection for PTSD, comorbid bipolar or psychotic disorder, longer duration of PTSD diagnosis, and a benzodiazepine prescription for PTSD had lower odds of receiving a documented EBP.

Recipients of documented EBPs differed from those who did not receive documented EBPs on several sociodemographic characteristics and indicators of treatment need. A limitation of our study is that some individuals in the group without EBP documentation may still have received an EBP, but did not receive EBP documentation in the electronic health record. Nevertheless, our results suggest that high-need or complex VA patients with PTSD may be less likely to receive documented EBPs.