Minneapolis – A routine primary-care visit typically includes weighing-in, blood-pressure monitoring and a body-temperature check. In some cases, the physician may also listen to patients’ heart and breathing rhythms, look down their throats or check their ears.

Please read this article and participate in this month's online opinion poll: Should cognitive screening become part of a routine primary-care office visit at VA?

WASHINGTON — Will VA’s inability to correctly estimate savings from cost-cutting measures mean the agency ultimately will have to make difficult trade-offs? And will those trafe-offs include fewer financial resources than anticipated for healthcare services?  Those are  frequently expressed concerns for legislators and veteran service organizations (VSOs) as VA’s FY 2013 and advance FY 2014 budget proposals are shopped around Capitol Hill. Such worries are backed up by a recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

WASHINGTON — Faced with growing pressure to consolidate medical services to control skyrocketing costs, DoD has endorsed a middle-ground measure that moves the department toward greater consolidation without dramatically changing the structure within the military services.

NEW YORK – Recognizing the growing number of female veterans and their unique medical needs, a physician at VA New York Harbor Healthcare Center has created a “women-only” examination and treatment room in the emergency department (ED). She also is putting together a multidisciplinary team to help female patients once their emergency needs are met.

WASHINGTON — According to VA statistics, four out of 10 veterans with mental-health challenges seek assistance from clergy — more than all other types of mental-health providers combined.

The survival rate for older men receiving colon cancer care and some types of lung cancer in VA was better than similar fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare beneficiaries, according to a study out of Harvard Medical School. ¹