Lawmakers are calling for an independent audit of TRICARE’s pharmacy program amid concerns that the contractor tasked with managing the program is pushing servicemembers toward its own pharmacies and driving out smaller retailers.
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VA Whole Health Team Approach Outperforms CBT, Usual Care for Chronic Pain
A large, multisite randomized trial has delivered the first rigorous test of the VA’s Whole Health approach to chronic pain, finding that an interdisciplinary whole-health team modestly outperformed both cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and usual care in reducing how much pain interferes with veterans’ daily lives.
Current Issue
Military Health System Sees Signs of Renewed Surgical Disparities Following COVID-19
The Military Health System (MHS) is often cited as a model for reducing healthcare disparities because every beneficiary is covered by the same insurance.
Call for Testosterone Screening of Many Servicemembers Draws Criticism from Legislators
When Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced last month that the military will begin screening male servicemembers for low testosterone, the new policy drew criticism and questions from Democrats. But, the proclamation also fell into line behind a larger effort by current public health officials to loosen rules around testosterone therapy.
2026 Compendium
New Solutions for an Old Problem: Extending Dopamine Effectiveness in Parkinson’s Disease
Deep brain stimulation works well for some Parkinson’s disease patients for some period of time, but the long-term benefits might not be as promising, according to a new VA study. That brings clinicians back to their problem of decades: How to extend dopamine benefits to avoid “off” episodes. New pharmaceuticals might offer the answers.
First-Generation Weight Loss Drugs Still Play a Vital Role in Patient Care at VA
As obesity remains a significant threat to health worldwide, first-generation obesity medications continue to play an important role in clinical practice, according to a recent review article.
Nearly a Quarter of Active-Duty U.S. Servicemembers Meet Obesity Definition
Obesity poses an increasing threat to U.S. military readiness, with more than half of active-duty servicemembers classified as overweight and about a fourth as obese. Yet, weight loss medications continue to be underused. Find out why and how increasing political pressure might change that.
Chester “Trip” Buckenmaier III, MD, COL (ret.), MC, USA | Opinion Columnist
‘As Physicians, We Owe Our Patients Two Things—Only Two Things—Our Time and Our Skill.
My wife and I have had the good fortune to spend the United States’ semiquincentennial (July 4, 2026), the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the 13 United States of America, with a rare gathering of our entire clan at the Maine family camp. Like many Americans, I have used this landmark July 4 celebration to reflect on myriad positive aspects of being born and raised in this country. Of late, the 24-hour news deluge of graft, corruption, war and disaster that consumes American media can challenge the patriotism of the most ardent United States citizen.
VA Finally Announces Overhaul of Its Decentralized Police Force
After years of ignoring warnings that its decentralized police force resulted in inconsistent standards and lax security at hospitals, VA announced it will be overhauling the force, raising pay rates and creating a unified chain of command that it hopes will solve its long-running issues.
Veterans’ Service Organizations Split Over How Medical Disability Is Calculated
A massive VA omnibus bill is facing unexpected hurdles in Congress and has split veterans service organizations, with some saying it sets a dangerous precedent for how medical disability is calculated, while others argue that its current benefits outweigh future dangers.
Capillaroscopy Is Critical in African-American Evaluations of Raynaud’s Phenomenon
Nailfold capillaroscopy (NFC) is a crucial tool for assessing diagnostic microvascular abnormalities in patients with Raynaud’s phenomenon (RP). A recent study sought to determine whether skin pigmentation affects the interpretability of nailfold evaluation.
Frailty Can Predict Incident Osteoporotic Fractures in Veterans with RA
While rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is known to be associated with an increased risk of frailty and osteoporosis, the relationship between frailty and incident osteoporotic fractures in RA has been less clear, according to a recent study.
Care for Pregnant Veterans With RA ‘Fragmented’
Although they receive strong support from maternity care coordinators (MCCs), pregnant women veterans with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) experience fragmented care across systems, according to a new review.
New Score Might Help Identify High-Risk Pulmonary Hypertension Subtype Earlier
A new scoring system might help physicians identify pulmonary veno-occlusive disease/pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis (PVOD/PCH), a rare but particularly dangerous subtype of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), allowing for more appropriate treatment and earlier referral for lung transplantation.
Delayed Anticoagulant Therapy for Pulmonary Embolism Patients Linked to Greater Mortality
In patients who seek medical care for intermediate- or high-risk pulmonary embolism (PE), delaying the start of anticoagulant therapy is associated with increased odds of PE-related mortality, according to a recent study.
2026 Dyslipidemia Guideline Expanded Statin Recommendations to Another 21.5 Million Americans
The 2026 dyslipidemia guideline significantly expanded the U.S. population recommended for primary prevention statin therapy, especially in adults at lower risk.
Clinicians Question DoD’s Testosterone Screening Mandate
Beyond the political fight over the DoD’s new testosterone screening mandate remains a clinical question: Does population-level screening of a mostly asymptomatic, young military population offer significant benefit or simply raise risk?
GLP-1RAs Don’t Work Better Than Oral Agents to Enable Insulin Discontinuation in T2D
With all of the hype surrounding glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) for Type 2 diabetes, some proponents have questioned whether patients using the drugs could eventually discontinue their use of insulin for glucose control.
Million Veterans Database Used in Large-Scale Analysis for Cardiometabolic Traits
Noting that studies linking mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) with complex traits are often limited by small sample sizes or focused on specific phenotypes in clinically selected cohorts, researchers recently reported data from more than 600,000 participants in the Million Veteran Program (MVP) to perform a multiancestry analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation and cardiometabolic phenotypes across European (EUR), African (AFR), Admixed American (AMR) and East Asian (EAS) populations.
Problematic Alcohol Use, Anxiety Disorders Appear to Share Genetic Architecture
While it is understood that problematic alcohol use (PAU) and anxiety disorders (ANX) often co-occur, suggesting some type of shared genetic and neurobiological foundations, the directionality of potential causal relationships and the specific mechanisms have remained unclear.
Somatic Tumor Risk Assessment Predicts Prostate Cancer Overall Survival
Even though tumor comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) has revolutionized the care of many cancers and identifies patients for biomarker-specific therapy, it had not been available for all variations.
In VA EDs, Female Physician Slightly More Likely to Order Scans, Tests and Admit Patients
Female and male physicians have different practice patterns, according to past studies mainly focused on primary care.
Postoperative Hypertension Treatment Only Recommended for Symptomatic Inpatients
Using medication to lower asymptomatic postoperative hypertension, a common clinical condition in admitted surgical patients, can have adverse outcomes, so postoperative hypertension should only be treated in inpatient surgical patients when it’s symptomatic, according to a recent review article.
VA Payments for Community Care Continue to Increase Substantially
The VA recently announced that it had made more than $36 billion in payments to local healthcare providers across the country in fiscal year 2025 as part of the VA MISSION Act.
Blast Exposure Linked to Higher Risk of Anger, Aggression Among Veterans
Veterans who served in military occupations with repeated blast overpressure exposure were significantly more likely to have evidence of anger, aggression and violence documented in their medical records than veterans in lower-risk occupations, according to a new study led by researchers at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System and the University of Utah.
Binge Drinking Declined in Some Veterans, While Heavy Drinking Increased in Midlife Veterans, Study Finds
Binge drinking declined from 2016 to 2024 in younger and older age groups among U.S. veterans, but, at the same time, heavy drinking increased significantly in midlife veterans, according to a recent study.
AI Helps VA Decrease Claims Backlogs; GAO Warns of ‘Unintended Consequences’
VA announced recently that its disability claims backlog fell below 70,000 for the first time since February 2020. That success has been partially attributed to technology modernization, which includes the use of AI in early stages of the benefits process.
Very Low Percentages of Veterans Have Received Contraception Information from Providers
In U.S. veterans of reproductive age, having greater healthcare engagement and more reliance on providers as trusted sources of contraceptive information could improve their knowledge, according to a recent study.
TRICARE’S Pharmacy Contract with Express Scripts Under Fire at Senate Hearing
Lawmakers are calling for an independent audit of TRICARE’s pharmacy program amid concerns that the contractor tasked with managing the program is pushing servicemembers toward its own pharmacies and driving out smaller retailers.
VA Whole Health Team Approach Outperforms CBT, Usual Care for Chronic Pain
A large, multisite randomized trial has delivered the first rigorous test of the VA’s Whole Health approach to chronic pain, finding that an interdisciplinary whole-health team modestly outperformed both cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and usual care in reducing how much pain interferes with veterans’ daily lives.
Pediatric Acute Respiratory Infections Lead to Lost Workdays for Active-Duty Servicemembers
Pediatric acute respiratory infections result in absenteeism for both children and their caregivers who are active-duty servicemembers, leading to lost duty days and reduced military readiness, according to a recent study.
Geriatric Surgery Program Enhances Care Coordination, Promotes Safer Surgeries for Older Veterans
A program developed to address the challenges that older adults experience when undergoing surgery has improved the coordination of care for older veterans and promoted safer, more goal-aligned surgery for older adults, according to a recent study.
Plan for Homeless Veterans Haven in Los Angeles Continues to Be Plagued by Problems, Cost Concerns
While VA is lauding its progress in creating a haven for homeless veterans on its West Los Angeles campus, lawmakers are concerned about ongoing delays in the project and the unprecedented level of secrecy required of contractors.
Military Will No Longer Require Annual Influenza Vaccines for Personnel
Annual influenza vaccines are no longer mandatory for military personnel.
New Executive Order Fast-Tracks the Use of Psychedelics to Treat Mental Health Disorders in Veterans
An executive order recently signed by President Donald Trump paves the way for expanded federal research into the use of psychedelics to treat mental health disorders, as well as directing the Food and Drug Administration to fast-track products shown to have promising results.
GOP Members on House VA Committee Seek Omnibus Bill Process to Reauthorize Agency Programs
In an effort to regain some of the congressional authority that has eroded in the last year, Republicans on the House VA Committee are seeking to develop an authorization process for VA similar to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is used to annually fund the military and some VA construction projects.
GLP‑1 Drugs, Healthy Lifestyle Together Appear to Reduce CVD Risk
In Type 2 diabetes patients, use of GLP‑1 drugs combined with healthy lifestyle habits is associated with reduced risk of major adverse cardiovascular events.
VA Secretary Argued Strongly for VA Reorganization, but Legislators Expressed Concerns
VA Secretary Doug Collins, appeared before the House VA Committee to defend his plans to reorganize the department, declaring, “We’re the largest healthcare system in the country, but we’ve never acted like it.
‘As Physicians, We Owe Our Patients Two Things—Only Two Things—Our Time and Our Skill.
My wife and I have had the good fortune to spend the United States’ semiquincentennial (July 4, 2026), the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the 13 United States of America, with a rare gathering of our entire clan at the Maine family camp. Like many Americans, I have used this landmark July 4 celebration to reflect on myriad positive aspects of being born and raised in this country. Of late, the 24-hour news deluge of graft, corruption, war and disaster that consumes American media can challenge the patriotism of the most ardent United States citizen.
VA Finally Announces Overhaul of Its Decentralized Police Force
After years of ignoring warnings that its decentralized police force resulted in inconsistent standards and lax security at hospitals, VA announced it will be overhauling the force, raising pay rates and creating a unified chain of command that it hopes will solve its long-running issues.
Veterans’ Service Organizations Split Over How Medical Disability Is Calculated
A massive VA omnibus bill is facing unexpected hurdles in Congress and has split veterans service organizations, with some saying it sets a dangerous precedent for how medical disability is calculated, while others argue that its current benefits outweigh future dangers.
Capillaroscopy Is Critical in African-American Evaluations of Raynaud’s Phenomenon
Nailfold capillaroscopy (NFC) is a crucial tool for assessing diagnostic microvascular abnormalities in patients with Raynaud’s phenomenon (RP). A recent study sought to determine whether skin pigmentation affects the interpretability of nailfold evaluation.
Frailty Can Predict Incident Osteoporotic Fractures in Veterans with RA
While rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is known to be associated with an increased risk of frailty and osteoporosis, the relationship between frailty and incident osteoporotic fractures in RA has been less clear, according to a recent study.
Care for Pregnant Veterans With RA ‘Fragmented’
Although they receive strong support from maternity care coordinators (MCCs), pregnant women veterans with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) experience fragmented care across systems, according to a new review.
New Score Might Help Identify High-Risk Pulmonary Hypertension Subtype Earlier
A new scoring system might help physicians identify pulmonary veno-occlusive disease/pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis (PVOD/PCH), a rare but particularly dangerous subtype of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), allowing for more appropriate treatment and earlier referral for lung transplantation.
Delayed Anticoagulant Therapy for Pulmonary Embolism Patients Linked to Greater Mortality
In patients who seek medical care for intermediate- or high-risk pulmonary embolism (PE), delaying the start of anticoagulant therapy is associated with increased odds of PE-related mortality, according to a recent study.
2026 Dyslipidemia Guideline Expanded Statin Recommendations to Another 21.5 Million Americans
The 2026 dyslipidemia guideline significantly expanded the U.S. population recommended for primary prevention statin therapy, especially in adults at lower risk.
Clinicians Question DoD’s Testosterone Screening Mandate
Beyond the political fight over the DoD’s new testosterone screening mandate remains a clinical question: Does population-level screening of a mostly asymptomatic, young military population offer significant benefit or simply raise risk?
GLP-1RAs Don’t Work Better Than Oral Agents to Enable Insulin Discontinuation in T2D
With all of the hype surrounding glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) for Type 2 diabetes, some proponents have questioned whether patients using the drugs could eventually discontinue their use of insulin for glucose control.
Million Veterans Database Used in Large-Scale Analysis for Cardiometabolic Traits
Noting that studies linking mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) with complex traits are often limited by small sample sizes or focused on specific phenotypes in clinically selected cohorts, researchers recently reported data from more than 600,000 participants in the Million Veteran Program (MVP) to perform a multiancestry analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation and cardiometabolic phenotypes across European (EUR), African (AFR), Admixed American (AMR) and East Asian (EAS) populations.
Problematic Alcohol Use, Anxiety Disorders Appear to Share Genetic Architecture
While it is understood that problematic alcohol use (PAU) and anxiety disorders (ANX) often co-occur, suggesting some type of shared genetic and neurobiological foundations, the directionality of potential causal relationships and the specific mechanisms have remained unclear.
Somatic Tumor Risk Assessment Predicts Prostate Cancer Overall Survival
Even though tumor comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) has revolutionized the care of many cancers and identifies patients for biomarker-specific therapy, it had not been available for all variations.
In VA EDs, Female Physician Slightly More Likely to Order Scans, Tests and Admit Patients
Female and male physicians have different practice patterns, according to past studies mainly focused on primary care.
Postoperative Hypertension Treatment Only Recommended for Symptomatic Inpatients
Using medication to lower asymptomatic postoperative hypertension, a common clinical condition in admitted surgical patients, can have adverse outcomes, so postoperative hypertension should only be treated in inpatient surgical patients when it’s symptomatic, according to a recent review article.
VA Payments for Community Care Continue to Increase Substantially
The VA recently announced that it had made more than $36 billion in payments to local healthcare providers across the country in fiscal year 2025 as part of the VA MISSION Act.
Blast Exposure Linked to Higher Risk of Anger, Aggression Among Veterans
Veterans who served in military occupations with repeated blast overpressure exposure were significantly more likely to have evidence of anger, aggression and violence documented in their medical records than veterans in lower-risk occupations, according to a new study led by researchers at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System and the University of Utah.
Binge Drinking Declined in Some Veterans, While Heavy Drinking Increased in Midlife Veterans, Study Finds
Binge drinking declined from 2016 to 2024 in younger and older age groups among U.S. veterans, but, at the same time, heavy drinking increased significantly in midlife veterans, according to a recent study.
AI Helps VA Decrease Claims Backlogs; GAO Warns of ‘Unintended Consequences’
VA announced recently that its disability claims backlog fell below 70,000 for the first time since February 2020. That success has been partially attributed to technology modernization, which includes the use of AI in early stages of the benefits process.
Very Low Percentages of Veterans Have Received Contraception Information from Providers
In U.S. veterans of reproductive age, having greater healthcare engagement and more reliance on providers as trusted sources of contraceptive information could improve their knowledge, according to a recent study.
Which Veterans With Cancer Are Most Likely to Attempt Suicide?
In recent years, the conventional wisdom has been that patients at risk for suicide after being diagnosed with cancer usually were older white males with advanced or poor-prognosis cases.
Many Female Veterans Unaware They Can Get Menopause Symptom Care at VA
Nearly half of women veterans who receive VA healthcare are at an age when menopause is most likely to occur. But, while VA offers care for menopause symptoms, like hot flashes and issues with memory, mood and sleep, an investigation by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that the majority of women veterans are unaware those services exist.
OIG Report: VA’s Aggressive Deployment of AI in the Clinical Field Considered ‘Risky’
VA policy to minimize the barriers preventing employee use of artificial intelligence (AI ) might be resulting in higher risks for veterans, according to a recent VA Office of the Inspector General report. An investigation found that the agency failed to acknowledge the extent to which providers are using AI chat tools in patient care.
VA Community Care Vascular Costs Surge as PAD Referrals Triple, New Data Show
Referrals for vascular surgery through the VA Community Care program nearly tripled over five years, driven overwhelmingly by endovascular interventions for peripheral artery disease, according to a comprehensive cost analysis presented at the Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM26) in Boston, June 10–13.
Concerns Raised Over New Limitations for SAMHSA Grants; Federal Group Also Has Faced Severe Staff Cuts
New limitations on how Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) grant can be used has sparked confusion and concern, as has a campaign by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. urging providers to limit psychiatric medications which have been proven effective in combatting depression and preventing suicide.
How Statins Affect Survival Free of Incident Frailty in Older U.S. Veterans
A top priority for researchers who study aging is how to identify and treat frailty, even though there are no established therapeutic interventions for the condition.
Head and Neck Cancer Rates Highest in Active-Duty Army Servicemembers Who Are Male, Older
Active-duty servicemembers who are male, enlisted in the Army and age 40 and older have the highest incidence rates of head and neck cancer, according to a recent study.
VA Researchers Featured in Dozens of Presentations at ASCO 2026
Studies address DPYD pharmacogenomics, lung cancer eligibility criteria, advance care planning, prostate cancer genomics, fatigue treatment, and more.
Gynecologic Cancer Diagnoses Rising Among Women Veterans
The number of gynecologic cancer diagnoses among women veterans and military servicemembers has nearly tripled over the past two decades, reflecting both the growing population of women who have served in the military and an increasing need to address cancer prevention, treatment and survivorship in this population, according to a new study.
A Review of Cognitive Strategy Use for Functional Compensation in MS
A new review sought to examine the evidence supporting the use of specific compensatory cognitive strategies in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS).
New MS Patients Have Longest Waits—More than 54 Days on Average to See Community Neurologists
The average wait time for a neurologist specialist visit in the United States is about 50 days for commercially insurance patients, and those with multiple sclerosis wait even longer.
Multimodal Exercise Program Promising for Reducing Frailty in MS Patients
Frailty not only is a prevalent and debilitating condition in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients; it also is linked to poorer health outcomes.
Legislators, Former Defense Health Board Members Object to Discontinuation of Mandated Military Flu Shots
The Pentagon is partially walking back its decision to make the influenza vaccine entirely voluntary, granting exemptions to the policy change for the services, including requiring it for all recruits entering basic training.
More Veterans Screening Positive for Depression and PTSD
More veterans are screening positive for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), even as measures of suicide risk and alcohol-use disorder show modest improvement, according to a large new study of more than 3.6 million veterans receiving care through the VA.
VA Eliminates LGBTQ Care-Coordinator Positions in Response to Executive Order
VA is eliminating its LGBTQ care coordinator positions, as well as all activities dealing with veterans’ gender identity, according to a leaked internal memo.
Heart Failure Duration Linked to Cardiac Remodeling, Dysfunction
A new study proposed that pathophysiologic features associated with increased risk in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) might reflect distinct phenotypes or disease stages related to heart failure (HF) duration and then set out to document that.
Catheter Ablation Safe, Career-Preserving for Servicemembers with Tachycardia
Atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) is the most common supraventricular tachycardia, and treatment for U.S. active-duty servicemembers (ADSM) can have unique career implications and might affect military retention.
More Treatment of High LDL-C Critical at VA to Avoid ASCVD
Pointing out that elevated serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is a major risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), a new study decried that only one-third of veterans with ASCVD have LDL-C treated to goal despite the availability of effective drugs to lower the condition.
COVID-19 Vaccine Shows Significant Protection Against MACE in Veterans 75 or Older
Past research has demonstrated that receipt of vaccines was associated with reduced COVID-19–associated cardiovascular risk. A new study took that a step further, finding evidence of vaccine effectiveness against the broader outcome—all-cause major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), suggesting that “likely reflects the hidden burden of undetected SARS-CoV-2 and associated complications that are amenable to reduction by COVID-19 vaccination.”
Younger Veterans With Insomnia/Sleep Apnea Combo Have High Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
The combination of insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea can be a dangerous combination for U.S. veterans, resulting in a much higher risk of Type 2 diabetes, among other conditions.