ANN ARBOR, MI—The VA continues to lag behind community hospitals in mandating annual influenza vaccine for all healthcare personal, a new study suggested. The report in JAMA Network Open said requiring HCP vaccination against the flu helps limit disease spread to...
Executive Order Enlists DoD Help in Modernizing Flu Vaccine
WASHINGTON—A new executive order is aimed at increasing the manufacturing efficiency and effectiveness of flu vaccines. The DoD and Department of Health and Human Services are co-chairing a task force in the process of implementing the order signed in September by...
For Custodian-Turned-PR Professional, Promoting Good at VA Is a Passion
WASHINGTON—It’s a constant refrain from VA leaders and staff that despite the continual spotlight that VA finds itself in, the public, legislators and even veterans themselves are unaware of just how much good work happens at VA facilities on a daily basis. As...
Legislators, OIG Challenge VA Contention That Care Problems Are ‘Isolated’
WASHINGTON—Disturbing incidents involving VA facilities have been in the headlines recently.
New Comprehensive VA/DoD Guideline Seeks to Stem Tide of Suicides
Servicemembers, Veterans Take Their Own Lives at Higher Rates
WASHINGTON—In recent decades, suicide rates have soared in the United States, increasing 25% from 1999 to 2016.
The issue has been especially acute among military servicemembers and veterans.
VA Facing Critical Healthcare Staffing Shortages in Near Future
WASHINGTON—Oversight agencies are sounding the alarm that VA is plagued with large staffing shortages in critical areas, including physicians, registered nurses, physician assistants, psychologists and physical therapists, as well as human resource specialists.
Concerns About GI Events Continue With Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate
OTTAWA, ONTARIO — Continuing concerns are being raised about the gastrointestinal safety of sodium polystyrene sulfonate, which is commonly prescribed for the treatment of hyperkalemia.
Seeing Combat Can Make Aging More Difficult for Veterans
PORTLAND, OR—Being exposed to combat makes a significant difference in how military veterans fare during aging, according to a new study, which also found that the experience increases the risk for depression and anxiety later in life. “There are a lot factors of...
What Will Be Cost of VA’s Legacy EHR System During Changeover?
WASHINGTON — As VA moves forward with the comprehensive overhaul of its electronic health records system, the department will still need to keep its legacy EHR system functioning well into the next decade. A recent Government Accountability Office report suggests, however, that the costs to do that—already totaling in the billions—may have been underestimated.
Genetic Mutations Affecting Response to Drugs Are Common in Veterans
SALT LAKE CITY — A massive VA study revealed that 99% of veterans have at least one genetic mutation known to affect response to specific drugs, including some commonly prescribed antidepressants, anticoagulants, antivirals, oncology medications and statins. That raises the question of who should be tested for which variants and when, which has stirred lively debate within the VA.
Five Miles High? VA Document Backlog Is Stacking Up, OIG Reports
WASHINGTON — If stacked, VA’s backlog of paper medical documents that are waiting to be digitalized—most generated by veterans’ visits to non-VA providers—would be over 5 miles high, according to a report from the VA inspector general.
Feds Investigate 11 Unexplained Deaths at West Virginia VAMC
CLARKSBURG, WV – Law enforcement officials announced recently that a criminal investigation has been launched to look into the unexplained deaths of as many as 11 patients at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center here.
Year Supply of Contraceptives Prevents More Unintended Pregnancies
Birth Control Pill Change Could Save VA $2 Million Annually PITTSBURGH—What if there was a method to prevent nearly 600 unintended pregnancies and save the VA about $2 million a year in prenatal, birth and newborn care costs while also bolstering the reproductive...
GAO: VA Still Lags in Ability to Track Veteran Wait Times for Care
WASHINGTON—Five years after scandal rocked the VA, the agency still does not have a reliable way of tracking patient wait times according to a recent Government Accountability Office report. In 2014, whistleblowers at the Phoenix VAMC revealed that facility leadership...
Whisteblowers Report Ongoing Harassment for Revealing VA Malfeasance
WASHINGTON — In 2014, Katherine Mitchell, MD, was one of a handful of employees at the Phoenix VAMC who blew the whistle on hospital leadership for keeping a separate, secret list of veterans seeking healthcare—a numerical sleight-of-hand that allowed them to artificially decrease the facility’s wait times.
Ensuring Community Providers Meet Veteran Suicide Prevention Standards
WASHINGTON — As leaders from across multiple federal agencies begin work on a roadmap to combat veteran suicide, they are searching for ways to turn existing efforts in towns, cities, counties and neighborhoods across the country into a net that can help catch struggling veterans.
Tests Show No Lung Changes for Recent Veterans
SAN ANTONIO — Significant airborne hazards were reported during military conflicts in southwest Asia, including geologic dusts, burn pit emissions, chemical exposures, and increased rates of smoking.
VA Study Shows Benefit of PCSK9 Inhibitors After Maximizing Other Therapies
HOUSTON—Veterans who have experienced acute coronary syndrome within the past year face a substantial risk of a repeat event. Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors significantly reduce that risk, but determining who would benefit most and when they should be initiated has been challenging.
U.S. Medicine Supplements
CE Credits
