66K Interactive, Inc., an interactive multimedia software development company based in Huntington, N.Y., today announced their completion of an eLearning Courseware CD-ROM for the Department of Veterans Affairs on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

According to the National Center for PTSD, there are approximately 27 million veterans in the United States, of whom 2,106,000 are conservatively estimated to have experienced a lifetime episode of the disorder. In fact, prior to September 11th, 250,000 veterans received treatment for PTSD from Veterans Administration (VA) clinics and programs, while 114,000 received VA disability payments for this mental disorder.

At present, the ``gold standard'' for PTSD assessment and diagnosis for military veterans and civilian trauma survivors is the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). Although many VA PTSD specialists and other mental health clinicians are aware of the CAPS, most had not used the instrument because there was no systematic educational program that teaches the skills necessary to properly utilize the instrument.

``We approached 66K to help us design and develop a transportable, efficient, interactive educational tool to make the CAPS more readily available for actual use by VA clinicians,'' said Deborah Sher, Multimedia Producer, Department of Veterans Affairs. ``This courseware will enable clinicians to administer the CAPS following guidelines developed by expert PTSD clinicians and researchers.''

The primary goals of the courseware program are to:

* Provide instruction in the reliable administration of the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) for DSM-IV.

* Promote widespread use of the CAPS within the Department of Veterans Affairs and non-VA facilities and agencies.

* Facilitate accomplishment of the highest clinical, research and educational objectives relevant to veterans with PTSD by improving accurate measurement of symptoms of this disorder.

``We are pleased to have been selected to assist the VA with this crucial diagnostic software tool,'' said Thomas Burns, 66K's President. ``The CD-ROM will deliver the necessary demands for clinical service to this large population of priority patients within the VA, including a training program supporting use of these methods.''

The CAPS assessments are pertinent to disability determinations, treatment planning, advancement of new knowledge through research, monitoring of clinical outcomes, and quality improvement initiatives. Education of these state-of-the-art methods for diagnosing PTSD benefits the VA by ensuring that veterans traumatized by military service receive the highest quality assessments.

About 66K Interactive, Inc. 66K Interactive, Inc. (www.66K.com) is a full service interactive media company providing electronic media (eMedia) strategies, tools and solutions. Services include the design and programming of interactive and multimedia sales, marketing, promotion, education, and training tools. Besides the Department of Veterans Affairs, 66K's clients include Citigroup, Citibank, Dun and Bradstreet, Inc., Oracle Corporation, CMP Media, Inc., Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc. and Lucent Technologies.