Federal Evaluation Service Line
TraumaticBrainInjury(TBI)Evaluations
Empower conducts traumatic brain injury evaluations that assess residuals across cognitive, emotional, and behavioral domains, with neurology expertise represented in its clinical leadership.
Empower conducts traumatic brain injury evaluations that assess residuals across cognitive, emotional, and behavioral domains, with neurology expertise represented in its clinical leadership.
Last reviewed: August 3, 2026
The Oversight Record
The federal oversight record on the examination program, including published work by the Government Accountability Office, has given sustained attention to examination quality in complex conditions. Empower's model is built around the clinical side of that question: examiner-to-condition qualification matching, structured quality review before release, and a direct line from the examining clinician to accountable clinical leadership.
Clinical Approach
How the examination is conducted
TBI residuals cross specialty lines: cognitive complaints, headaches, mood and behavioral changes, and sleep disturbance often present together. The evaluation assesses the facets the VA rates for TBI residuals and distinguishes them from co-occurring mental health conditions where the record supports it.
Examiners document symptom history from the injury event forward, review available imaging and treatment records, and state where findings are attributable to the TBI, to another condition, or cannot be separated without speculation.
Empower's clinical leadership includes board-certified neurology expertise, which informs the examination protocol and the quality review standard for TBI reports.
Standards and Review
Who conducts the work and how it is checked
Examiner qualification standard
- Licensed clinician qualified for the TBI examination type under the applicable program requirements.
- Training on the TBI facets rating framework and the distinction between TBI residuals and co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses.
- Familiarity with DBQ and medical opinion formats for TBI and related conditions.
Quality review process
- TBI reports are reviewed for internal consistency across the rated facets before release.
- Opinions that separate or decline to separate overlapping symptoms must state the clinical rationale.
- Clinical quality accountability is held at the executive level by the Chief Executive Officer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Traumatic Brain Injury evaluation questions
What does an Empower TBI evaluation assess?
The evaluation assesses TBI residuals across the facets the VA rates, including cognitive, emotional, and behavioral domains, and distinguishes them from co-occurring mental health conditions where the record supports it.
How does Empower separate TBI residuals from co-occurring conditions?
Examiners document symptom history from the injury event forward, review available imaging and treatment records, and state where findings are attributable to the TBI, to another condition, or cannot be separated without speculation. Opinions that separate or decline to separate overlapping symptoms must state the clinical rationale.
Does neurology expertise inform Empower's TBI examinations?
Yes. Empower's clinical leadership includes board-certified neurology expertise, which informs the examination protocol and the quality review standard for TBI reports.
Who to Contact
Named federal point of contact
Jon Towers
Policy Director
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP
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Reviewing Empower for a federal evaluation requirement?
Contact the named federal point of contact to discuss scope, examiner qualifications, and the quality review standard behind every report.