SAN FRANCISCO—While the VA performs well overall on key 30-day readmission rates, a study by researchers at the San Francisco VAMC questioned the utility of the measures for most of the health system’s hospitals. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services began...
Three VAMC Campus Suicides in a Week Heighten Concerns About Prevention
WASHINGTON—Concern over the rate of veteran suicides reached a fever pitch last month after three veterans took their lives at VA facilities over a span of five days. Two of the deaths occurred in Georgia—one in a parking garage at the Carl Vinson VAMC in Dublin and...
VA Reverses Stance, Won’t Challenge ‘Blue Water’ Veteran Court Ruling
WASHINGTON—In an about-face, the VA will recommend that the federal government not challenge a recent court decision ruling that the department cannot deny benefits to Vietnam-era Blue Water Navy veterans claiming Agent Orange exposure. The news came from VA Secretary...
VA Continues Efforts to Reduce Drug Diversion; Focuses on Opiates
WASHINGTON—In the past two years, the VA has implemented a nine-step process to minimize drug diversion, but cases continue to slip through. In December 2018, the VA’s Office of the Inspector General reported two instances of healthcare workers diverting drugs for...
VA Struggles to Overcome Women’s Healthcare Disparities
WASHINGTON—VA is straining its capacity and struggling against a culture that can sometimes be hostile to women as it responds to what VA officials consider a “tsunami wave of women veterans” over the last decade. Today, women make up more than 16% of active-duty...
VA Researcher Seeks to Include Veterans’ Voices in Healthcare Decisions
SEATTLE—It’s a big job to ensure that VA’s healthcare system is equipped to provide the best possible care to veterans. It might be an even bigger job to make sure that veterans across the country have access to that care. As VA looks into new ways of getting veterans...
House Committee Looks at Influence Trump Friends Have Had on VA
WASHINGTON—Three months into the new Democrat-led Congress, legislators are continuing to press VA on possible misconduct by high-level VA employees and consultants. That includes expanding the investigation into VA’s relationship with civilian advisers conducting...
VA Announces Proposed Standards for Access to Mission Act Outside Care
WASHINGTON—VA has released its proposed new access standards, defining new eligibility criteria for veterans seeking care by non-VA providers. The standards are part of the VA MISSION Act signed into law in June 2018, and their release has added fuel to concerns that...
VA Announces New Partnerships to Expand Telehealth Services
WASHINGTON.—VA Secretary Robert Wilkie announced new partnerships with several prominent companies and veterans’ organizations to make access to health services easier for veterans, regardless of their location. Collaborators announced at the recent Anywhere to...
VA Fails to Use All Outreach Resources to Combat Veteran Suicide
Despite declaring veteran suicide as its No. 1 clinical priority, VA’s suicide prevention outreach efforts dropped off in 2017 and 2018, and a lack of clear goals and inconsistent leadership has impacted its success, according to a Government Accountability Office report.
Disabled Veteran Helps Others Like Her Get Back Into the Workforce
Ten years ago, Coniece Washington was walking through the Washington, DC, VA Medical Center when she saw a job notice tacked to a board: certified rehabilitation counselor.
Senate Blocks Agent Orange Exposure Extension to Blue Water Veterans
Blue Water Navy veterans who claim to be impacted by toxic exposure while serving off the coast of Vietnam were forced to grapple with disappointment once again as the 115th Congress ended without passing legislation addressing their VA benefits.
VA: Oversight Improving for Questionable Contracted Disability Exams
A recent audit by the Government Accountability Office has lawmakers and veterans service organizations frustrated with the Veterans Benefits Administration’s inability to track the quality of work done by outside contractors and concerned that veterans have not been receiving accurate disability ratings.
VA ‘On Track’ for Appeals Reform; GAO Questions Timetable
VA is “on track” to implement a law designed to give veterans more options to have their claims appeals reviewed, as well as speed up the process, agency officials assured lawmakers last month.
Senate VA Committee Chair Vows to Pass ‘Blue Water’ Navy Benefits
Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) vowed that addressing benefits for Blue Water Navy Veterans “is no longer going to be a question,” but that “how we do it is the only question.”
VHA Makes Progress in Improving Safety of Opioid Prescribing
VHA medical facilities should ensure that its providers are following three key opioid risk mitigation strategies, including conducting urine drug screening, a recent report recommended.
VA faces healthcare staffing shortages, barriers to hiring facility leaders
A facility-specific survey found that 138 of 140 VA facilities reported shortages of medical officers, with psychiatry and primary care positions being the most frequently listed.
Veteran nephrologist labors to improve ESRD treatment at VA
When Terrence O’Neil, MD, retired as chief of nephrology at the James H. Quillen VAMC in Johnson City in December 2016, he left in his wake decades of work treating kidney disease—nearly 35 years in the Air Force and DoD, plus 11 more at VA.
Committee approves bill to provide agent orange benefits to ‘blue water’ vets
A long sought-after bill that would make it easier for Blue Water Navy veterans to receive Agent Orange benefits has been passed by a key House of Representatives committee.
Bill to Streamline, Expand VA’s Choice Program Signed Into Law
Legislation that would streamline VA’s community care programs into one program and expand VA’s caregiver program to veterans of all eras was signed into law earlier this month..
Despite Criticism, VA Healthcare as Good or Better Than Other Systems
The good news from a recent consultant study is that, overall, the VA healthcare system is generally equal or better than others when inpatient and outpatient quality is measured.
VA Inks Contract for Massive New Health Record System
Calling it one of the largest IT contracts in the federal government, with a ceiling of $10 billion over a decade, then-VA Acting Secretary Robert Wilkie announced that the agency signed a contract with Cerner for its new electronic health record (EHR).
Surprise! President Nominates Wilkie for Permanent VA Secretary
President Donald Trump said last month that acting VA Secretary Robert Wilkie “has done an incredible job” and, in a surprise move, nominated him for the permanent Cabinet position.
Fibromyalgia Presents Differently in Male, Female Veterans
Research on fibromyalgia, a poorly understood, chronically disabling pain syndrome, generally has focused on its clinical presentation and treatment.
How Veterans Feel About Remote Management of Their Care
The VA is expanding remote management of patients to improve disease prevention and care.
Stick-on Monitors Help Warn of Heart Failure Exacerbation in VA Study
While implantable devices have shown promise in reducing rehospitalization for heart failure (HF), VA researchers sought to determine if options that are less expensive and non-invasive would have comparable results.
Legislation: Clinicians Must Be Involved in Formulary Design, Purchasing
Legislation to prevent VA from outsourcing creation of its drug formulary and to require more input from medical professions is being considered in Congress.
GAO: VA Needs Better Planning for ‘Complex’ Appeals System Overhaul
Gene L. Dodaro became the eighth Comptroller General of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on December 22, 2010, when he was confirmed by the United States Senate. WASHINGTON — VA needs to address all of the required...
Community Providers Unprepared to Serve Veterans Under Choice Program
As the debate about increasing access for veterans to community-based provider heats up, a serious problem has emerged: Few providers outside the VA health system appear to be prepared to meet the unique challenges of the veteran population.
Former VA Secretary Nominee Claims Allegations Against Him Are False
Veterans’ groups expressed concern last month regarding a “lack of permanent leadership at the department,” after Rear Adm. Ronny L. Jackson, MD, withdrew his name from consideration as VA secretary amid anonymous allegations of misconduct.
