Department of Defense (DoD)
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... View Article
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SILVER SPRING, MD—Middle East respiratory syndrome emerged first in Saudi Arabia in 2012 before spreading to several other countries, including a major outbreak in South Korea. In total, the MERS coronavirus infected more than 2,200... View Article
Department of Defense (DoD)
The process for tracking the DoD’s most serious adverse medical events is “fragmented, impeding the Defense Health Agency’s (DHA) ability to ensure that it has received complete information,” according to a new review.
Department of Defense (DoD)
With a long history of point of care testing at both of its predecessor organizations, the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) laboratory services staff were keenly aware of the advantages of using portable testing devices to obtain rapid patient assessments.
Department of Defense (DoD)
Lifting weights is one way servicemembers keep in peak physical condition during deployment.
Department of Defense (DoD)
Having Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM-2) increases mortality risk in breast cancer patients, regardless of whether diabetes was diagnosed before or after breast cancer, according to a recent study.
Department of Defense (DoD)
Among those who are exposed to combat, it’s the weapons fire that does it. In the Navy, it’s the noise levels in engine rooms and on the decks of carriers.
Department of Defense (DoD)
WASHINGTON — The military services need to develop “targeted and coordinated strategies” to alleviate military physician gaps, a recent report recommended.
Department of Defense (DoD)
WASHINGTON—VA has told legislators that the agency is on track with a new law that will give veterans more options to have their claims appeals reviewed.
Department of Defense (DoD)
Diagnosing and treating mild traumatic brain injury continues to pose challenges for clinicians, TBI experts told lawmakers.
Department of Defense (DoD)
Slow Reimbursement Frustrated Clinicians, Hurt Veterans’ Credit By Sandra Basu WASHINGTON—Citing the importance of providing payments in a “timely and consistent manner,” the VA announced that it has revised its regulations for payment and reimbursement... View Article
Department of Defense (DoD)
If VA clinicians are surprised by the significant changes in the updated recommendations recently issued by the VA and DoD for the diagnosis and management of low back pain, they are not alone. The evidence review even shocked many members of the work group that wrote the new clinical practice guidelines.
Department of Defense (DoD)
Hacking isn’t always a bad thing, especially if the result is devices that can help protect servicemembers from injuries.
Department of Defense (DoD)
A vaccine developed by Army researchers to combat Zika virus not only induced a robust immune response in trials but also was found to be safe and well-tolerated in healthy adults.
Department of Defense (DoD)
The pharmacy team at McDonald Army Health Center (MCAHC) on Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia had a common problem—longer than desired wait times for patients to pick up prescriptions.
Department of Defense (DoD)
For Air Force Col. Todd Rasmussen, MD, and Jonathan Eliason, MD, the idea for a new way to treat internal hemorrhaging on the battlefield was hard-won.
Department of Defense (DoD)
In mid-2016, Sanofi Pasteur announced that manufacturing issues could produce a YF-VAX shortage that might last for several months.
Department of Defense (DoD)
For the first time since the Korean War, American troops have access to freeze-dried plasma in the field. Currently only available to special forces, the blood product has already saved lives.
Department of Defense (DoD)
Chronic pain is the leading cause of medical discharge from active duty military service. Disability payments related to the condition also are a significant economic cost to the DoD.
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Maj. Jonathan Monti, DSc, PA-C, says he does not believe in haphazardly adding new technology to the already-overwhelming amount of gear carried by those providing medical care on the battlefield.
Department of Defense (DoD)
In the year since the release of a RAND report critical of follow-up within the Military Health System (MHS) for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, the DoD has released results of several new programs to improve screening, increase the number of therapeutic visits and track mental health measures.
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When the DoD lifted the ban on transgender individuals serving in the armed forces last year, it set an aggressive goal of June 2017 for proficiency in treating personnel with gender dysphoria.
Department of Defense (DoD)
BOSTON – The overwhelming majority of veterans of U.S. conflicts since the terrorist attack on 9/11/2001 are nothing like the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-addled, homeless opioid-addicts too often depicted in the media and in political campaigns.
Department of Defense (DoD)
WEST HAVEN, CT—Gambling disorder and its comorbid diagnoses are observed at higher rates in military veterans than in the general population, but a significant research gap exists regarding the relationships of veterans' life and service experiences to problematic gambling, according to a new study.
Department of Defense (DoD)
Recent improvements in battlefield medical care have allowed more servicemembers to survive devastating injuries.
Department of Defense (DoD)
Four Army pharmacy sites have taken the lead in shifting the patient experience from a transactional paradigm to a service-oriented model the Army hopes to replicate across all facilities.
Department of Defense (DoD)
Military physicians stumped by a diagnosis might want to consider leishmaniasis in personnel returning from Iraq or Afghanistan, according to a new report.
Department of Defense (DoD)
It was 7 a.m. on a Wednesday in January—a time when most clinical psychologists would be making their way to the hospital or clinic. But instead of heading to her office at the Naval Hospital Jacksonville Deployment Health Center, Tracy Hejmanowski, PhD, was driving an hour south of the city to begin a new patient on a course of equine-assisted therapy.
Department of Defense (DoD)
Abuse and neglect of children of Army personnel appears to be under-reported, according to a new report which also suggests a breakdown of communication between civilian child protective services and the military.
Department of Defense (DoD)
A pilot program integrating complementary and integrative health approaches in pain management and mental health services at 15 VA facilities has the potential to help facilitate the understanding of nonpharmacological approaches to treating pain.
Department of Defense (DoD)
Maj. Craig Goolsby, MD, wears a lot of hats at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU).
Department of Defense (DoD)
To reach the growing number of individuals in their care who have diabetes, both the Army and the Indian Health Service have aggressively adopted telemedicine
Department of Defense (DoD)
Suicide rates in the general U.S. population rose to their highest level in 30 years in 2014, but among both active-duty servicemembers and veterans, the rates were higher still.
Department of Defense (DoD)
The state of medicine, including federal medicine, is always evolving, and that is why conferences such as the annual AMSUS Annual Continuing Education Meeting are so vital to federal providers, according to AMSUS Executive Director Michael Cowan MD, VADM, USN (Ret.).
Department of Defense (DoD)
The Defense Health Agency (DHA) launched two programs this summer to ease access to care and improve communication between military and civilian healthcare providers.
Department of Defense (DoD)
Drawing on deep experience with flaviviruses that started with its namesake’s research on yellow fever in the 1800s, the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) and collaborators brought two Zika vaccine candidates through early testing in just four months this spring.
Department of Defense (DoD)
Primary care physicians and cardiologists increasingly rely on risk factor-based scores to determine who should start preventive therapy for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Department of Defense (DoD)
CHERRY POINT, NC—Prior to a renovation late last year, patients at Naval Health Clinic Cherry Point’s pharmacy left negative feedback twice as often as positive. Installation of a robotic pharmacy system reversed those numbers, however. Today, two-thirds of comments are upbeat.
Department of Defense (DoD)
WASHINGTON — While the science of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is growing, clinical understanding still lags behind conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), where there is years of research.
Department of Defense (DoD)
BETHESDA, MD — When it comes to the war against lung cancer, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) is on the front lines.
Department of Defense (DoD)
WASHINGTON — Karen Guice assumed duties last month as the DoD acting assistant secretary for health affairs with the retirement of Jonathan Woodson, MD, who stepped down at the end of April.
Department of Defense (DoD)
WASHINGTON — In an effort to ensure that military emergency medicine and trauma specialists are able to maintain their skills off the battlefield, a proposed program would establish a Joint Trauma Education and Training Directorate.
Department of Defense (DoD)
By Annette M. BoyleJOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, TX — Process improvement efforts oftentimes frustrate staff and irritate patients, but the 59th Medical Wing pharmacies at Joint Base San Antonio have implemented 65 process improvements during... View Article
Department of Defense (DoD)
By Brenda L. MooneyBOSTON — In yet another example of how battlefield medicine has altered civilian healthcare practice, damage-control resuscitation (DCR) now is being widely used in trauma centers across the United States.A survey of... View Article
Department of Defense (DoD)
Military Trauma Clinicians Struggle to Stay SharpBy Sandra BasuWASHINGTON — In an effort to maintain medical readiness after the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, DoD officials are developing a list of joint essential medical capabilities that... View Article
Department of Defense (DoD)
In another first for the Army, an African-American woman became the new surgeon general last month.
Department of Defense (DoD)
Civilian healthcare providers need to acquire more "military/veteran cultural competence" to provide adequate care to veterans, servicemembers and their families.
Department of Defense (DoD)
By Brenda L. MooneySANTA MONICA, CA — The MHS does an excellent job following up with patients after being discharged from mental healthcare treatment but falls short in some other areas, according to a new... View Article
Department of Defense (DoD)
Pre-infection Immunological Health Achieved in Some CasesBy Annette M. Boyle SAN ANTONIO — For years, clinicians have not recommended treating human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients with antiretroviral therapy (ART) before they saw a significant drop... View Article
Department of Defense (DoD)
While veterans and servicemembers who have experienced a single unprovoked seizure and the clinicians who treat them would like clear, consistent next steps, new guidelines take them into solidly gray areas.
