VA Secretary Denis McDonough vowed to legislators that the agency will use the lessons it learned during COVID-19 to make the agency stronger going forward.
Military Begins Discharges of Servicemembers Refusing COVID-19 Vaccines
Most active-duty U.S. servicemembers had been vaccinated against COVID-19 by mid-December, when the Army set its deadline.
VHA Continues to Provide Too Many Low-Value Prostate Cancer Screening
Low-value healthcare is defined as practices or procedures without clear benefit or where potential harm outweighs the benefit. Deciding what is and isn’t low-value care can be especially difficult when it comes to cancer screenings; increasing age, greater illness burden or lower life expectancy—all weigh on decision-making.
Nearly All VA Employees Comply with Federal COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements
Nearly all, 98%, of VA employees facing a COVID-19 vaccination requirement have had at least one dose of vaccine or have requested an exception or extension, according to White House data released just before Thanksgiving.
VA Care Patterns Shifted Dramatically Because of Pandemic, Mission Act
Like other healthcare systems, the VHA has faced unprecedented challenges in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. A new study provides a broad look at how VA care patterns have shifted since the start of the pandemic.
VA Officials Face Hostile Legislators Complaining of Agency’s ‘Broken Culture’
VA has been criticized as suffering from a “broken culture” where employees do not feel comfortable coming forward about safety concerns, resulting in problems going unresolved and tragedies that could have been prevented.
VA Efforts to Secure Its IT System Hampered by Congressional Doubts
For years, VA has struggled to secure its IT systems, with cybersecurity appearing as a persistent weakness in inspectors’ reports.
The department has said it believes that one of the steps toward making progress is addressing the buildup of outdated technology and software, or “technical debt,” that VA has accrued over the decades. VA estimates the total cost of fixing that current debt at $1.3 billion.
Military Surgeon Readiness Continues to Decline as Patient Caseloads Drop
Military surgeon readiness continues to decrease because of declining workload, and a new study suggested that patient flow care at the MHS will have to dramatically change to reverse the situation.
LA VAMC Researcher Works to Create Racial, Ethnic, Gender Equity in Healthcare
When Donna Washington, MD, MPH, moved to Los Angeles for a health services fellowship at UCLA following her residency, she imagined that she would end up working in a county or public health system.
LGBTQ Legislation Seeks to Make VA More Inclusive, Welcoming
While there has been considerable focus by VA in recent weeks on reaching out to LGBTQ veterans, especially those discharged under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell restrictions, some legislators and veterans advocates are seeking to broaden the conversation around equity and inclusion.
Military Bases Add Additional Restrictions to Help Stem COVID-19 Spread
U.S. military bases around the country—and some around the world—have begun to increase health protection measures to guard against the surge in COVID-19 cases due to variants, such as delta, that have been spreading for months.
LGBTQ Veterans Ousted By ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Eligible for VA Benefits
VA Secretary Denis McDonough sent guidance to Veterans’ Benefit Administration adjudicators restating that veterans who were given other than honorable discharges under the military’s former Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy are eligible for the full range of VA benefits.
Veteran Was Missing for Almost a Month Before Decomposed Body Found
On June 12, 2020, a badly decomposed body was found in the emergency exit stairwell of the Bedford Veterans Quarters (BVQ), a privately operated, independent living facility on the campuses of VA’s Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital.
How Mandatory HCP Vaccines Affect Infections
The VA led the way among federal agencies in requiring front-line health workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. It later expanded the requirement to most VHA employees, volunteers and contractors who work in those facilities or come in contact with veteran patients and healthcare workers as part of their duties.
AMA, Other Physician Groups Strongly Oppose New VA Standards of Practice
Partly spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, the VA late last year released an interim final rule clarifying that VA nurses and other healthcare professionals can deliver services in a state other than their state of licensure, registration or certification.
VA Police Likely Will Be Equipped With Body Cameras to Provide More Data
VA’s police force will likely soon be equipped with body-worn cameras, either through the department’s own initiative or by legislative fiat.
VA Opposes Senate Bill Requiring It to Research Cannabis Use
A bill that would require the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to run clinical trials on the potential benefits of cannabis for the treatment of military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain was again rejected by the VA, even though the legislation—S.1467 VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act of 2021—is supported by a plethora of veterans groups.
VA Studies Seek to Find Balance in Antibiotic Duration for Male UTI Treatment
Urinary tract infection is one of the diagnoses for which antibiotics are most commonly used. So, a study determining that shorter duration treatment works as well as a longer course of antibiotics can have an outsized effect on reducing overuse of antimicrobials.
Pain Cream Sellers Sentenced for Bilking TRICARE Out of Mega-Millions
Prosecution continues for defendants charged in a number of nearly-identical schemes to defraud TRICARE and other insurers out of hundreds of millions of dollars by exploiting a former loophole in the billing process for compound drugs.
VA Takes Lead in Requiring COVID-19 Vaccine for Front-line Healthcare Workers
When the VA, the largest healthcare system in the U.S., mandated COVID-19 vaccines for front-line healthcare workers in late July, it moved to the forefront of a building trend to require COVID-19 vaccines for some employees. It also established the department as the first federal agency to take the step.
Veteran Homelessness Likely to Increase With End of Eviction Moratorium
While the last decade has seen a dramatic decrease in the number of veterans who are homeless on any given night, that trend has stalled in the last two years with numbers, even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, starting to move upward again.
Legislators Disagree on When, How VA Should Deal With Aging Facilities
The average age of VA’s healthcare facilities is now more than 50 years old. As those buildings have aged, the cost of maintaining them has risen, and VA has not always been able to keep up.
VA Recharges Efforts to Tackle In-House Equity, Inclusion, Diversity Issues
VA needs to do more to ensure workforce equity, inclusion and diversity, especially in its senior leadership roles, according to legislators and employee advocates.
Infrastructure Costs to Modernize VA Could Cost Billions Extra
VA might have underestimated the physical infrastructure costs related to its electronic health record modernization effort by billions according to a VA Inspector General report analyzing the project costs.
Legislators Question VA’s Significantly Increased Budget Request
In its FY 2022 budget proposal, VA is asking Congress to provide the department with a 10% increase over 2021 funding levels.
VA Begins Process to Offer Gender Confirming Surgery to Transgender Veterans
With VA’s announcement that it will begin initiating the process to offer gender confirmation surgery to transgender veterans.
Few Women Veterans Receive Pre-Pregnancy Counseling
Women veterans aren’t routinely being queried about their intentions related to pregnancy, making it more difficult to optimize family planning care.
Workflow Issues Plague Rollout of VA’s New Electronic Health Record
Many of the design issues delaying the continued rollout of VA’s new electronic health record (EHR) system are in the area of standardized workflow rather than simple technical glitches, VA officials explained.
Pandemic Limitations Fuel Increase in Pending VA Disability Claims
The rise in backlogged claims at the Veterans Benefits Administration is creating concern.
Lawmakers Seek to Expand VA Coverage Related to Fertility Issues
Veterans who have service-connected infertility issues should have access to the full range of fertility services science now available, especially in vitro fertilization, without the constraints imposed by antiquated and sometimes nonsensical regulations, legislators and veterans’ advocates argued last month.