For more than a decade, VA has been shifting to a patient-centered model of care, one where providers work together to get a fuller picture of a patient’s life and health.
BCG Vaccine Doesn’t Protect Against COVID-19 Infection, Severity
At an earlier point in the COVID-19 pandemic, hopes were raised that the BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) vaccine, which stimulates innate immunity, could provide protection against SARS-CoV-2.
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.
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 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.
Intensive Glycemic Control Not Eye-Protective in Advanced Diabetes
Intensive glycemic control (INT) does not appear to have a protective effect when it comes to required eye procedures in patients with advanced diabetes.
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.
OIG Finds That VA’s Computer Systems Remain Vulnerable to Cyberattacks
Although no data was stolen from VA’s computer systems during the 2020’s SolarWinds hack, cybersecurity remains a long-standing material weakness for the VA, agency overseers pointed out.
Problems With DoD-to-VA Transition Program Intensified by Pandemic
Transitioning from active duty military service to civilian life is difficult at the best of times. The pandemic added a host of new challenges, highlighted existing problems with the transitioning process and widened the cracks through which those veterans who are most in need of support are in danger of falling.
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.
COVID-19 Pandemic Put Spotlight on VA’s Critical Supply Chain Problems
The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored VA’s lack of a comprehensive supply chain management program, and agency officials once again defended their progress before Congress.
Many Female VA Patients Appear to Have Undiagnosed OSA
Too many women veterans remained undiagnosed with sleep apnea, even if they were at high risk of adverse outcomes, according to a new study.
Infrastructure Lack Increases Health Risks of Native Americans
The COVID-19 pandemic, which disproportionately affected Native Americans, has revealed a critical need for investments in those communities, according to trial advocates and the Indian Health Service (IHS).
Mortality Rate Lower for Kidney Transplant Patients at VHA Than Outside Care
Mortality rates are lower for veterans who receive all of their post-kidney transplant care within the VHA than those who receive care outside the VA through Medicare coverage, according to a recent study.
VA Now Vaccinating All Veterans, Not Just VHA Enrollees
The VA is smoothing the way for all U.S. veterans, their spouses and caregivers to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
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.
Servicemembers Affected by Toxic Exposures Need More Specialized Healthcare
Government medical agencies need to view toxic exposure as a high-priority issue deserving of specialized centers for research and monitoring.
Chief Medical Recruiters Look for Commitment to the VA’s Mission
Even VA’s harshest critics regularly admit that VA provides world-class care to its veterans and that VA facilities are staffed by some of the most compassionate, hardest-working providers in any healthcare system in the country.
VA Doctors Sentenced for Crimes Committed Against Veteran Patients
The first months of 2021 saw the progression of a number of high-profile criminal cases involving VA employees charged with harming the patients they were tasked to serve.
VA Officials: Pandemic Recovery Expected to Strain VA Funding
The aftermath of the pandemic at VA will require as much emergency funding, if not more, than was required during the actual pandemic, according to VA leadership.
GAO Finds Problems With Oversight of Community Healthcare Providers
MISSION Act critics have raised alarms about the legislation consolidating and expanding VA’s community care program– that healthcare provided by non-VA providers would fail to meet VA’s standards.
Team Trains VA Health Professionals to Provide Better LGBT Care
As VA conducts a department-wide assessment of how it serves its LGBT veterans, agency leaders will likely discover what Jillian Shipherd, PhD, and Michael Kauth, PhD, have understood for years
Technology Helps Veterans Better Manage Diabetes During Pandemic Restrictions
Across the country, diabetes patients have faced extraordinary challenges throughout the pandemic.
Yuen Used Technology to Create COVID-19 Screening Tool for VA
It was working at VA that, for Kaeli Yuen, MD, sparked a passion for finding new ways that health information technology can ease the burden on overworked, schedule-packed clinicians.
VA: Missions Achieved, Lessons Learned during a Pandemic Year
On Jan. 11, 2020, China reported the first known death from a novel coronavirus. Ten days later, the U.S. announced its first confirmed case. By mid-January, VA’s infectious disease and public health experts initiated regular updates about the new virus to department leadership.
VA Pharmacists Advise on Use of Anticoagulation in Severe COVID-19 Cases
While reports in the literature are increasing about high rates of coagulopathy and venous thromboembolism (VTE) among hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), there is little guidance on how to treat it or prevent it.
VA’s IG: Unrealistic EHR Rollout Could Have Put Patients at Risk
WASHINGTON — The VA Inspector General released two long-awaited reports last month examining problems with the roll-out of VA’s new electronic health record system at its pilot site, the Mann-Grandstaff VAMC in Spokane, WA, and the news was not good.
VHA Shifts Focus from Problem-Centered to Veteran-Centered in New Model
FORSAN, TX — By rolling out the Whole Health System, the VA expects to transform care for veterans and could establish the agency as the national leader in a fundamentally different, truly integrated approach to healthcare. The Whole Health program asks alternative...
Star Ratings System Out at VA; More Localized Healthcare Comparisons Offered
WASHINGTON—The VA will no longer use a star ratings system to compare its 146 VA medical centers. Instead, the VA will make public measures such as wait times, quality of medical care and patient experience ratings available for each facility. According to VA...