WASHINGTON — Does VA need to employ more aggressive tactics when it comes to getting veterans struggling with PTSD, depression and substance abuse into treatment?  Should some of those tactics involve using disability benefits as an incentive to receive treatment instead of as a simple entitlement?

WASHINGTON — Exercises that have proven effective in improving the cognitive skills of multiple sclerosis patients also may be useful in treating symptoms of TBI.

WASHINGTON — “Seamless transition” has become a buzzword for change within VA and DoD, referring to the handing over of servicemembers into VA care without an interruption in care. One of the most frustrating barriers to that goal has been the system by which servicemembers are evaluated for disability and veterans benefits.

PTSD more than doubles a veteran’s risk of death from any cause and is an independent risk factor for heart disease, according to VA researchers.

BETHESDA, MD — As technology advances and the ability of researchers to collect and compute larger and larger amounts of data increases, the face of epidemiology is slowly but surely changing.

HOUSTON—For many veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan deployments, psychologist Ashley Clinton, PhD, is the first mental health professional they see and their entry-point to VA mental health care.

PITTSBURGH—In 2000, if you were a patient at the Pittsburgh VAMC and were found to have a lung nodule, it took an average of six weeks to be evaluated for lung cancer. With the possibility of being diagnosed with a life-threatening disease hanging over your head, those six weeks could seem like an eternity.

WASHINGTON—In 2005, VA initiated a Colon Cancer Care Collaborative (C4) to help improve the timeliness of follow-up after positive fecal blood occult tests (FOBT). The initiative was in reaction to studies released at the time showing considerable delays between screening and follow-up, some as long as six months to a year.

WASHINGTON—Screening for colorectal cancer traditionally has been done on a per-visit basis at the VA. A patient comes in and, based on the physician’s recommendation, undergoes a test for the disease.

PORTLAND, OR—Vietnam-era veterans exposed to Agent Orange are almost 50% more likely to develop prostate cancer than unexposed veterans, making exposure to the defoliate a higher risk factor than age and on par with family history for veterans, according to recent research.