WASHINGTON — Servicemembers who suffer from PTSD or other medical problems often seek treatment outside the military and veterans’ healthcare systems when they return from deployment. Civilian providers do not always have the expertise to provide optimal care, however.

The VA’s My HealtheVet is not only the most widely disseminated personal health record system in the United States, it also is likely to become the model for such systems nationwide.

Urban veterans with HIV may be more likely than their rural counterparts to be early adopters of new HIV therapies, a recent study suggests

The old saw goes, “Physician health thyself,” but for Ken Lee, MD, chief of the Spinal Cord Injury Division at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center, one could add: “And use what you have learned in your own healing to heal others.”

After recorded seasonal influenza vaccination rates among VHA healthcare personnel plummeted 21% last year compared with 2009-2010, the agency has set an aggressive goal of vaccinating 85% of healthcare workers during the 2011-2012 flu season.

Please read this article and participate in this month's online opinion poll: Should VA mandate that all medical staff receive annual influenza vaccines as a condition of employment?

SAN DIEGO — Inadequate training and mismanagement at the San Diego VA Healthcare System’s Primary Care Call Center (PCCC) has put patients at risk, according to an investigation conducted by the VA Office of the Inspector General.

By Robert A. Petzel, MD, VA Under Secretary for Health
VHA provides excellent healthcare to six million veterans – some say the best care anywhere. Not only have we earned higher marks in patient satisfaction than the private sector, we also lead the nation in measures of quality.

By Victoria J. Davey, PhD, MPH
VA Chief Officer of Public Health
The Office of Public Health within the Veterans Health Administration serves as the authority on public health issues for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

WASHINGTON — Frustrated by the numerous reports of veterans unable to receive timely mental healthcare at VA facilities, legislators have called for the VA Office of the Inspector General to conduct a formal audit of wait times.

WASHINGTON — Reports about suicide prevention constantly focus on the difficulty veterans have in receiving mental healthcare, even though the suicide rate is dropping.