The Separation Health Assessment Explained: SHPE vs SHA, and How to Fill Out Part A

Quick answer: The Separation Health Assessment (SHA) is your final documented medical evaluation before you leave the military. "SHPE" is just an older name for the same thing. The assessment has two parts: Part A is the self-assessment you fill out yourself, and Part B is the clinical exam your provider does afterward. Part A is the part you actually control, and it is the part that decides whether your VA disability claim starts with a real paper trail or a blank page. Fill it out completely, in your own words, before the appointment.

This post is about what the assessment is and how to complete Part A so it helps you later. It is not medical or legal advice, and it does not replace your clinic's guidance. If you want the practical "what to bring and how to prep for the appointment" version, read the companion post first: Separation Physical Prep Guide. This post covers the definitions and the form itself.

The SHPE vs SHA Confusion, Cleared Up

You will hear both terms, sometimes in the same briefing, and it makes people think they are two different appointments. They are not.

• SHPE — Separation History and Physical Examination. The older term, still baked into a lot of Air Force and other service guidance and into how clinics talk day to day.
• SHA — Separation Health Assessment. The joint DoW/VA name for the standardized version, built so one process can meet both the military's separation requirement and the VA's exam needs. The SHA is the structure that formally splits the process into Part A and Part B.

So if your MTF scheduler calls it a SHPE and the VA paperwork calls it a Separation Health Assessment, that is normal. Same appointment. Same purpose: get your complete medical picture on the record before your access to military medicine ends.

Official references worth bookmarking:

• health.mil: Separation Health Assessment
• VA: Separation Health Assessment
• VA News: Discharge — Separation Health Assessment Part A

Part A vs Part B: Who Does What

This is the distinction that actually matters, and it is the one most people never get explained clearly.

Here is the part to internalize: Part B is built on Part A. The provider works from what you reported. If a condition is not on your Part A, it usually does not get examined, and it usually does not make it into Part B. That is how real conditions end up completely absent from the one medical snapshot the VA leans on hardest.

Part A is required. VA and DoW made the Part A self-assessment a mandatory part of the separation/claims process on April 1, 2023, so it is not a courtesy form you can wave off to get out the door faster.

How to Fill Out Part A So It Actually Helps Your VA Claim

The instinct most of us are trained into is to downplay everything. "I'm good." "It's not that bad." "I don't want to look like I'm complaining." That instinct is fine for a fitness report. It is actively harmful on Part A.

The VA generally needs three things to connect a disability to your service: a current diagnosed condition, an in-service event or onset, and a link between the two. A thorough Part A helps establish the current condition and puts the in-service timing on the record while you are still in. Here is how to do it right.

1) List everything. Every condition, every injury, every symptom.

Not just the big stuff. Knees, back, shoulders, hearing, ringing in the ears, sleep, headaches, stomach issues, skin, mental health, that ankle you rolled in 2019 that never got looked at. If it is real and it is ongoing, it goes on the form. You are not being dramatic. You are being complete.

2) Be specific, not stoic.

"Occasional back pain" tells the reader nothing. Write it the way it actually is: what it is, when it started, what makes it worse, and how it limits you. Compare:

Same condition. One version supports a claim. The other reads like nothing.

3) Anchor conditions to when and how they started in service.

Dates and events are what let the VA tie a condition to your service. You do not need a perfect date. "Around summer 2020, during the field exercise" is far more useful than leaving it blank. If you can name the deployment, the PT test, the incident, or the timeframe, name it.

4) Do not minimize mental health or the invisible stuff.

Anxiety, depression, PTSD, insomnia, tinnitus. These are among the most common VA claims precisely because they are common in service and easy to leave undocumented. You are not committing to anything long term by reporting them. You are creating a record that they existed before you separated.

5) Report it even if it was never treated.

People skip conditions on Part A because "there's nothing in my record about it." That is backwards. Part A is exactly where you get an undocumented issue onto paper. The provider can write "member reports history of X since Y, no prior treatment documented." That is weaker than years of treatment notes, but it is infinitely stronger than silence.

6) Keep your own copy.

Photograph or download your completed Part A and the finished assessment before you leave. Systems lose things, transfers happen, and your future self filing a claim from a civilian apartment will thank you. You can pull records through the TRICARE/MHS patient portal, but do not rely solely on that.

If VA disability is on your radar at all, do this alongside the broader prep in the VA Disability Preparation Checklist. Part A is one input; the checklist is the full picture.

How the SHA Connects to Your VA Claim (BDD vs Filing Later)

This is where the assessment stops being paperwork and starts being money.

Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) lets you file a VA disability claim before you separate, so your claim is already in motion when you take off the uniform. You file under BDD between 180 and 90 days before your separation date. Done right, the Separation Health Assessment and any VA-ordered exams can serve as the medical evidence and exam for that claim — meaning you may not need a separate C&P exam for the same conditions.

That "done right" is load-bearing. The SHA can only support the claim for conditions that are actually documented in it. Which loops straight back to Part A. A complete Part A is what makes the BDD pathway work the way it is supposed to.

If you miss the BDD window and file after you separate, you can still file — plenty of people do — but you will typically go through standard VA exams later instead of leaning on the SHA, and you will be assembling evidence from the outside. It works. It is just more work. See the VA prep checklist for what that looks like.

What If You're in a Medical Board (IDES)?

The Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) is a different track. It is for members being medically separated or retired through a Medical Evaluation Board / Physical Evaluation Board (MEB/PEB), and it has its own examination process tied to your referred conditions.

If you are in IDES, follow that process and your PEBLO's guidance — the exams there are structured around your referred/claimed conditions and feed both the disposition and the VA rating. The DoW-only Separation Health Assessment described in this post is the path for members separating or retiring normally. If you genuinely do not know which one applies to you, that is a one-question conversation with your transition office. Ask it early.

The Timing Reality

The assessment is generally completed within the 180 days before your separation date, and it has to be done before you separate, not after. If you are filing a VA disability claim, the 90-day mark matters: with 90 or more days left, VA typically completes your SHA; with fewer than 90 days left, DoW completes it. Two practical facts collide here:

• MTF appointment slots fill up, sometimes 60+ days out.
• Terminal leave and out-processing eat the back end of your calendar faster than anyone expects.

So the honest advice is boring: book it early, and get Part A done thoughtfully before the appointment instead of scribbling it in the waiting room. If you are still mapping how the last few months fit together, the Terminal Leave vs SkillBridge vs PTDY breakdown shows why the calendar disappears so fast.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between SHPE and SHA?

They describe the same thing: your final documented medical evaluation before you leave active duty. SHPE (Separation History and Physical Examination) is the older term still used in a lot of Air Force and other service guidance. SHA (Separation Health Assessment) is the joint DoW/VA name for the standardized version that includes a self-assessment (Part A) and a clinical exam (Part B). If your clinic says one and your paperwork says the other, do not panic. It is the same appointment and the same goal: get your health on the record before you separate.

What is Part A of the Separation Health Assessment?

Part A is the self-reported portion you fill out yourself, before the provider examines you. It is where you list every current and past medical condition, injury, and symptom in your own words. Part B is the clinical exam and write-up your provider does afterward. Part A drives the whole appointment, because the provider works from what you reported. If you leave something off Part A, it usually does not get examined or documented in Part B.

Is the Separation Health Assessment required?

Yes. Under current DoW policy, service members separating or retiring complete a Separation Health Assessment, and the Part A self-assessment is a required part of that process. Completing Part A is not optional paperwork you can skip to save time. Skipping it or rushing it just means your record is thinner than it should be right when you are about to lose easy access to military medicine.

When should the Separation Health Assessment be done?

The assessment is generally completed within the 180 days before your separation date, and it must be done before you separate, not after. If you are filing a VA disability claim under Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD), aim to have it done with at least 90 days left — with 90 or more days remaining VA usually completes it, and with fewer than 90 days DoW does. You file the BDD claim between 180 and 90 days before separation, so line the two up. Book early. Clinics get backed up and terminal leave eats the calendar faster than people expect.

Does the Separation Health Assessment count as my VA claim exam?

It can, but only if it is set up that way. When you file under Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD), the SHA and any VA-ordered exams can serve as the medical evidence and exam for your claim, so you may not need a separate C&P exam for the same conditions. This only works if the conditions are actually documented in the assessment, which comes back to filling out Part A completely. If you separate first and file later, you will typically go through standard VA exams instead.

Do I still do the SHA if I am going through a medical board (IDES)?

The Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) is a separate track for members being medically separated or retired through an MEB/PEB, and it has its own examination process that is tied to your referred conditions. If you are in IDES, follow that process and your PEBLO's guidance. The DoW-only Separation Health Assessment described here is the path for members separating or retiring normally. Ask your transition office which track applies to you if you are not sure.

Final Thoughts

The Separation Health Assessment is not a hoop. It is the last clean shot you get to make your medical record match reality while the appointment is easy to get and free. The acronym on the door — SHPE or SHA — does not matter. What matters is that Part A is thorough, honest, and specific, because everything downstream (Part B, your BDD claim, your rating) is built on top of it.

Fill it out like the person who has to file the claim is a stranger who knows nothing about you — because in a VA processing center, that is exactly who reads it.

About the author: Bruce Goren is a retired Air Force member (Ret. Feb 2026). He went through his own separation medical process and VA claim during transition, which informed the practical guidance shared here. This post is general information, not medical or legal advice — confirm specifics with your MTF, transition office, or a VSO.