WASHINGTON — Whether exposure to war zone burn-pits causes long-term health issues has created heated debate among military officials, veterans, Congress members and currently deployed troops.

WASHINGTON — Oct. 1, 2013, might mean little to most clinicians now, just a day somewhere between Labor Day and Halloween in about two years.

WASHINGTON — Only a few weeks after members of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs expressed skepticism about testimony that the problem-plagued Miami VA Medical Center (VAMC) is now running smoothly, the facility’s director was removed from her position.

When this issue of US Medicine reaches our readers, we will be well into the holiday season and drawing 2011 to a close. Like many, I often find myself using this time of year to reflect on the previous 12 months, new directions, challenges, successes and failures.

WASHINGTON — Veterans with mental illness and substance abuse cost nearly three times as much to treat as the average veteran. According to a VA-commissioned study by the RAND Corp. looking at data from one year of care (2007), such veterans represented 15% of patients using VA healthcare services, but accounted for 32.9% of costs.