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.
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.
U.S. Veterans with Lung Cancer Experienced Greater Survival Gains Than Other U.S. Patients
Advances in lung-cancer screening and treatment have improved survival for patients across the United States. But new research suggested that healthcare delivery might be just as important as medical innovation in determining outcomes.
Community Survey Found Appreciation for Military Medical Research
While the U.S. military supports a large medical research enterprise, public awareness of those efforts and the benefits to civilians has remained a relatively unknown factor.
Veterans With ALS Report High Satisfaction With VA Care Compared to Outside Care
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurogenerative disease that has devastating symptoms. It is 1.5 times more common in military veterans than those who never served. A recent survey found that veterans with the disease gave high marks to VA’s highly comprehensive and coordinated system to manage their care.
Where Veterans Turn for Emergency Care: VA vs. Community Emergency Departments
For veterans experiencing injury or sudden illness, timely access to emergency care can be critical. Although the VA offers emergency services at its facilities, veterans may also seek care at community emergency departments (EDs).
Physician Assistants Have Close Ties to Military and Continue to Improve Care Value in MHS, VA
Eugene A. Stead, MD, of the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC, is credited with assembling the first class of PAs in 1965; all were former U.S. Navy hospital corpsmen and U.S. Army combat medics who had received considerable medical training during their military service, including the Vietnam War. The curriculum was based on what he remembered about the fast-tracking of MD training during World War II.
Post-ICU Care Outcomes Among Veterans Need Improvement for Both VA, Community Hospitals
Post-ICU care outcomes among veterans are less than optimal for both VA and community hospital discharges, showing a need for coordinated programs to improve recovery trajectories and outcomes, according to a recent study.
Pregnancy-Related Complications Higher in Pregnant Veterans With Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases
Adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as severe maternal morbidity, are more prevalent among veterans with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared to other veterans, and these require closer monitoring, according to a recent study.
Non-Combat Health Threats Pose Ongoing Challenges for Military Readiness
When most people think of military casualties, combat injuries often come to mind. Yet, throughout history, the majority of threats to servicemember health have come not from the battlefield but from disease and nonbattle injuries (DNBI).
Constant Administrative Changes Have Hampered Efforts to Integrate VA Direct Care, Community Care
Attempts by VA in recent years to integrate its direct care and community care systems have been hit and miss, with frequent administrative changes and a lack of communication leaving facility leaders confused over proper protocol and who to go to when they have questions, a watchdog report has found.
Questions Raised About Costs, Implementation With AI Expansion at VA
VA leaders are committed to aggressively expanding the agency’s use of artificial intelligence, but, while there is consensus among stakeholders that the potential benefits of AI are significant, there’s also skepticism that VA can achieve its goals in an accelerated timeframe.
Senate VA Committee Advances Changes to Expand VA-Paid Community Care
Veterans approved for community care in certain specialties will no longer have to get reauthorization from VA every 90 or 180 days but will be authorized for up to a year at a time under a new department policy.
VA Programs to Accommodate Disabilities Hindered by Many Factors
According to veterans’ advocates, new policies, staffing shortages and a general lack of publicity are hindering VA programs meant to help veterans modify their homes and automobiles to accommodate disabilities and to fully take advantage of adaptive sports opportunities.
VA Vehemently Denies That Bylaw Changes Allow Clinicians to Discriminate
Changes being made to the language in hospitals’ bylaws will not allow doctors to discriminate based on national origin, marital status or political affiliation, the VA stated in response to an article published in The Guardian in mid-June.
Collins Appeared Before Congress; Discussions Turned Hostile at Times
VA Secretary Doug Collins appeared before both the House and Senate for the first time since his confirmation, facing harsh criticism on the administration’s plan to cut as many as 83,000 VA staff by the end of the fiscal year.
VA’s Missing a Third of Behavioral Health Initial Visit Records for Community Referrals
An investigation by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) into record-sharing between VA and community care providers for patients seeking behavioral healthcare has found large gaps in department oversight,
Legislators Push for Better Oversight of VA Community Care Providers
As promised, the new Republican-led Congress began the legislative year by focusing heavily on community care in VA, with a glut of hearings targeting different aspects of the issue.
Payer Shift From Medicare Meant Extra $2 Billion VA Emergency Care Costs
At least $2 billion of VA spending for community emergency department care in 2021 was due to a payer shift from Medicare, according to a recent research letter.
Military Health System Multiple Myeloma Patients Survive Longer
Military Health System (MHS) beneficiaries with multiple myeloma have longer 5- and 10-year survival rates compared to multiple myeloma patients from the U.S. general population, according to a recent study.
Faulty Cell Function in Gulf War Illness Likely Caused By Exposure to Hazardous Agents
Veterans suffering from Gulf War illness (GWI), also known as Gulf War Syndrome (GWS), have faulty cell function that is likely caused by intense exposure to hazardous biological and chemical agents during war service, according to a new study.
VA $1 Billion Behind in Collecting Insurance, Co-Pays With Software Tool Offline
VA is close to restarting a software tool integral to allowing the department to track its billing of community providers. The Program Integrity Tool (PIT) has been offline since flaws in the system were discovered in February 2023.
Is VA Avoiding Reporting Requirements in Supply Chain Modernization?
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are upset at VA for delays in providing Congress with information about its ongoing Supply Chain Modernization (SCM) project.
Huge Financial Impact From Lapses in, Misuse of VA Prime Vendor Program
A recent audit of VA’s Medical Surgical Prime Vendor Program (MSPV) found that lack of oversight of the system, which is meant to save VA money by better leveraging the department’s buying power, is costing VA hundreds of millions a year.
VA Healthcare Found to Generally Be More Efficient Than Private Care
Several recent studies have shown that VA healthcare is consistently as good as—or better than—non-VA healthcare. Now a study shows VA healthcare is also more efficient.
Despite Little Down Time, New Oracle-Cerner EHR Not Popular With Staff
According to VA, at least one aspect of its new Oracle-Cerner electronic health record (EHR) system is showing demonstrable improvement–a reduction in the number of times the system as a whole has been offline and inaccessible.
Veterans Treated in VAMCs for Some Common Conditions Had Better Outcomes
Outcomes were better for some common conditions among veterans treated in VA hospitals compared to community care, but the tradeoff often was higher resource use.
New Journal Article Decries Lack of Recognition for Military Medicine
A new Special Communication in JAMA Network Open decried that military medicine’s contribution to healthcare advances often are overlooked and that not enough communication occurs between civilian and military clinicians.
VAMCs Outperform Community Hospitals Overall in CMS Quality Measures
The first time VA hospitals were included in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services annual Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings, they aced it.
Performance of Outsourced VA Disability Exams Continues to Raise Questions
Congress first granted VA the authority to contract veterans’ medical disability examinations (MDEs) out to non-VA medical staff in 1996. The goal of that original pilot program was to see whether doing so would speed up the exam process and get veterans their benefits sooner.
