WASHINGTON — A recent report on federal government plans to curb drug abuse puts added emphasis on the active-duty military and the veteran population. It also focuses more attention on misuse of prescription drugs and, as far as recovery efforts go, on mental health.   

WASHINGTON, DC— Families of servicemembers who commit suicide will now receive condolence letters from the President, just as families of troops who die in combat or of other service-related injuries currently do.

Philadelphia - Veterans who have attempted to kill themselves suffer elevated risks of mortality from all causes, not just suicide, according to a recent study. And the problem is not likely to improve anytime soon: The study cited research showing that troops returning from the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have a greater suicide risk than veterans of past wars.

PTSD could be linked to a compromised immune system in war veterans, according to preliminary results of a study.

WASHINGTON — While VA has quickly rolled out its new caregiver-assistance program for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, speed may have come at the expense of transparency and consistency. Or, so said caregivers who report trouble understanding the limitations of the act, as well as disparities in how VA determines the size of the caregiver stipend.

Linda Resnik, PhD, a VA research-health scientist at the Providence VA Medical Center was collaborating on a study with researchers at DoD’s Center for Intrepid (CFI) when the site principal investigator there was reassigned to a different location. A second DoD site principal investigator who took over was subsequently also reassigned to a different location.

WASHINGTON — Military medicine may have dodged a bullet this summer when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to reconsider a case involving the Feres Doctrine, which, in effect, bars active-duty personnel from filing medical malpractice lawsuits against DoD health care providers. Opponents of the law, however, vow to continue the fight in Congress, the only remaining battleground. Please read this article and participate in this month's online opinion poll about whether the Feres Doctrine should be overturned and active-duty military servicemembers be allowed to sue DoD health care providers for medical malpractice.

With an influx of women veterans entering the VA system in higher numbers than ever before, the department has given women’s health care high priority. One step in addressing this growing population is assessing what women are looking for in a VA health-care experience.

WEST HAVEN, CONN. — Over the last few years, telemedicine has partially redefined how health care is delivered to patients, especially those who do not live near medical centers. For the most part, it has been a one-to-one exchange. One patient communicates with one physician, or one physician communicates with a specialist at another facility.

Suicide among veterans has grabbed its fair share of headlines in recent weeks. Much of the focus has been on VA’s difficulty in providing timely care, especially to veterans returning from deployment with PTSD, TBI or other neuropsychological conditions.