For your clinician

What's being asked of you

Your patient is filing a VA disability claim. VA needs a medical opinion on whether a condition is at least as likely as not (50% or greater probability) connected to their military service — this is called a nexus opinion. You don't need special VA training to give one; you need your own clinical judgment, stated at that specific standard.

What a DBQ is

A Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ)is VA's own structured form for a specific condition — there's one for TBI, one for hearing, one for mental health, and dozens more. VA publishes them publicly; your patient or their VSO can provide the exact one that applies. Completing one carries the same weight as a signed nexus letter, in VA's preferred format.

What your patient's packet gives you

The claim packet from Connecting the Dots of Service — a free tool built by a veteran-founded nonprofit — has a section titled “For the reviewing clinician”that lists the specific condition(s), the documented in-service exposure or event behind each one, and the exact question being asked. It states facts your patient logged and the government's own documented sources — never a diagnosis, and never a substitute for your own exam.

Two different questions, depending on the claim

• Exposure-linked: is it at least as likely as not (50% or greater) related to the documented in-service exposure or event described in the packet?
• Secondary to another condition: is it at least as likely as not proximately due to, or aggravated by, a condition already service-connected? (38 CFR §3.310 — aggravation counts, and clinicians unfamiliar with VA claims often miss that it's a valid basis on its own.)

What this app is asking you to sign

Nothing, until you're satisfied it's accurate. The packet has a signature line for your own opinion, in your own words — it's a hand-off, not a form to rubber-stamp. If the evidence doesn't support a connection, saying so is the right answer.