WASHINGTON—The health of Native American veterans recently took center stage at congressional hearings—a rarity—as VA and the Indian Health Service prepare to update their memorandum of understanding on how the agencies share responsibility in caring for Native...
PITTSBURGH—It’s long been understood that social stress factors such as violence, homelessness, unemployment, relationship problems and other factors can all contribute to veterans’ suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. For the first time, that link can be...
WASHINGTON—While anyone can be the target of online scams, veterans might be especially vulnerable to internet fraud and social media identity theft, according to veterans’ advocates. Making the situation even worse, they testified before the House Veterans Affairs...
WASHINGTON—While VA is moving swiftly forward with a number of major technology projects, including a new electronic health records system, the agency’s advancements in cybersecurity are progressing at a glacial rate, according to reports from VA watchdogs. This has...
PALO ALTO, CA—The journey of Thomas Osborne, MD, into medicine was not a straight line, but it was a path that seems strangely appropriate considering his role now as Director of VA’s brand new National Center for Collaborative Healthcare Innovation. An art student at...
WASHINGTON—The rollout of VA’s new medical scheduling system has been delayed an additional two years, with the end date being pushed from 2023 to 2025, VA officials announced last month. VA had separated implementation of the new system from its larger...
WASHINGTON—Three months following the implementation of the MISSION Act, VA leaders testified before Congress that the sweeping changes to the agency’s community care standards are rolling out smoothly. Concerns remain, however, about veterans’ lack of understanding...
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.
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.
ATLANTA—The VA has rolled out a number of telehealth initiatives over the last years, with remote visits to dermatologists being offered to more and more veterans. But how well is the program working? A new study maintained that teledermatology is comparable to...
WASHINGTON—High turnover among leadership, gaps in accountability, and long-standing problems in cybersecurity represent significant challenges for VA in its ongoing efforts to improve its IT infrastructure, oversight officials told legislators last month. These...
3D Printing Already Personalizes Care in Other Ways ANN ARBOR, MI—VA scientists in Michigan recently announced they are working to create a three-dimensional-printed artificial lung. The lab-created lung could transform treatment for some of the approximately one...
When Jennifer Farrell, RN, arrived at the Richmond VAMC in February 2015, the interventional radiology department was in its infancy.
After years of pressure from Congress and advocacy groups, the DoD and VA have formally agreed to work together to implement “a single, seamlessly integrated electronic health record that will accurately and efficiently share health data.”
A new online decision tool helps clinicians determine when to recommend lung cancer screening for their patients.
Diagnostic testing is often used during emergency department (ED) visits. But, in the rush to diagnosis and treat patients, often not much attention is paid to patient preferences for such testing, according to a recent study.
In busy outpatient clinics, following up on abnormal test results too often falls by the wayside, according to a new study.
The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is gearing up for greater oversight of VA’s electronic health record implementation with the creation of a new oversight subcommittee.
