In the 1990s, the military services discontinued the practice of filing health records with the personnel record portion at the NPRC. In 1992, the Army began retiring most of its former members' health records to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Over the next six years, the other services followed suit. In 2014, the military services discontinued the practice of retiring the records to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In order to determine where a medical record is located, please see the chart below:
Branch
Status
Date
Record Location
Army
Discharged, retired, or separated from any component
"Veterans who plan to file a claim for medical benefits with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) do not need to request a copy of their military health record from the NPRC. After a claim is filed, the VA will obtain the original health record from the NPRC. In addition, many health records were lent to the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the 1973 Fire."
"Veterans who filed a medical claim should contact the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in order to determine if their record is already on file. The VA Toll Free # is: 1-800-827-1000 - it will connect the caller to the nearest VA office."
I assume the VA reaches out to the other depositories for medical records if they are retained at other than the NPRC,
The submission of a substantially completed initial or supplemental claim triggers the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA’s) duty to assist procedures which include a duty to make reasonable efforts to obtain relevant records in the custody of a Federal department or agency.
I.1.C.1.b. Definition: Federal Records
Federal records are any documents in the custody of a Federal department or agency. Federal records include but are not limited to
service treatment records (STRs)
other service department records (such as personnel records, line-of-duty determinations, inpatient treatment records or behavioral health records) that are not included with the STRs
VA medical and other records (including Vet Center records and authorized VA medical treatment or examinations at a non-VA facility)