WASHINGTON — In the wake of a killing spree that left 17 Afghan civilians dead last month, questions were raised about whether the U.S. military is effectively diagnosing neurological and psychiatric problems that can become ticking time bombs in war zones.

WASHINGTON — Popularity of dietary supplements among servicemembers and the lack of formal policy on their sale or use has led to a potentially dangerous situation in the U.S. military, with two soldiers dying last year of heart attacks after ingesting a performance-enhancing product.

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).

William T. Jarvis, PhD, is a retired public health and preventive medicine professor at Loma Linda University School of Medicine in California and president of the National Council Against Health Care Fraud. He has been an outspoken critic of the nutritional supplement industry for decades.

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.

WASHINGTON — As more medical services are moved to veterans at VA’s outpatient clinics, the need for increased space in those facilities has become critical. For some communities, however, the realities of real estate and construction is that the process is plagued by delays.

WASHINGTON — For most of its existence, VA’s healthcare system has been geared almost exclusively toward men. In recent years, the agency has made a concerted effort to make facilities friendlier to women veterans, including taking into account the need for childcare and the addition of gender-specific clinics and increased consideration of privacy and safety.

WASHINGTON — Veterans with PTSD are more likely than others to be prescribed opioids for post-injury pain, and that can lead to an increase in adverse mental and physical effects, according to a recent VA study.

WASHINGTON — Members of a House subcommittee questioned recently whether the Obama administration’s proposed budget for the Indian Health Service is sufficient to cover critical health needs, especially the lack of adequate sanitation facilities in the majority of homes.