Despite strong messaging over the last few years that VA would protect employees who come forward about wrongdoing in the workplace, the percentage of whistleblowers who experience retaliation from co-workers is growing.
VA Makes Argument in Congress for Its Record-Setting $325.1B Budget Request
VA vociferously defended its proposed FY2024 budget before Congress in an effort to justify the record-setting $325.1 billion request—a 5.4% increase over last year’s enacted budget.
VA’s Clinical Quality, Safety as Good or Better Than at Outside Care
A new review has determined that care provided in the VA healthcare system is consistently as good as or better than non-VA care in terms of clinical quality and safety.
At All Levels, Chief Medical Office Scavella Focused on Best Care for Veterans
For a VA physician, it can be a challenge to figure out the best treatment plan for a patient and implement it, and the victory comes when the veteran’s health and quality of life is improved.
Military Surgeons Deployed to Combat Environments Face Moral Injury, Distress
A new VA study may be the first to examine moral injury and distress at the intersection of these populations—that is, military healthcare professionals, specifically surgeons
New Bill to Raise VA Physician Salary Cap Goes to Full Senate
The Senate VA Committee has advanced sweeping bipartisan legislation that would allow VA to raise the salary cap for physicians to above $400,000.
VA Disability Claims Rejected at Higher Rates for Black Veterans
Conley Monk Jr., a Black veteran who served in Vietnam, has spent much of the past 50 years trying to get the VA to accept his claims for disability benefits, housing assistance and education benefits.
VHA Wait Times Increased Most for Blacks, Hispanics During Early Pandemic
Black and Hispanic veterans appeared to experience more barriers to accessing care than white veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study finding that wait time disparities increased significantly from the pre–COVID-19 period.
Man Who Stalked Female VA Physicians in California Called ‘Menace’ by Judge
A federal judge called a man “a menace to society” —the first time he said he has done that —while sentencing him to 18 years in federal prison for stalking four female physicians who worked for the VA.
VA Catching Up on Rescheduling Appointments Canceled Early in the Pandemic
VA is slowly catching up on the appointments that were canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down many nonessential services at VA hospitals.
Childs, Fisher House Provides a ‘Safe Space” for Families of VA, MHS Patients
Having a loved one in the hospital can be one of the most stressful experiences for a family.
Race Appeared to be Factor in Treatment of Veterans Hospitalized With COVID-19
Black veteran patients received different medical interventions than white patients when hospitalized with COVID-19 in VAMCs across the country, according to a new study.
GAO: VA Hasn’t Addressed Core Issues in Standardized Purchasing
For the past decade, VA has struggled to implement a standardized framework for how it purchases goods and services.
VA Adds Abortion Counseling, Limited Abortion Access to Health Services
The VA has expanded its health services to include access to abortion counseling and, in limited cases, abortion to veterans and VA beneficiaries, even when restricted by state laws.
Expert Panel Identifies Quality Measures for High-Risk Veteran Patients
An expert panel has identified quality measures for ambulatory primary care for VHA patients who have complex care needs and are at high risk for adverse outcomes, such as hospitalization or death, according to a new study.
VA OIG: Lack of Oversight Found in DO’s Sexual Abuse at Beckley VAMC
This is just the latest finding by the OIG that places blame for a recent criminal case on lack of VA oversight.
GAO Report Spotlights Medical Supply Issues at VA Healthcare Facilities
Each report the Government Accountability Office (GAO) submits to VA detailing weaknesses in the department comes attached with recommendations for solving the problems.
Ho Seeks to Reduce Barriers to Care—Inside and Outside VA
Michael Ho, MD, PhD, a staff cardiologist at VA Eastern Colorado Health Care, has spent much of his professional career studying how veterans access VA and the barriers that might stand in their way.
VA Makes Efforts to Respond to Healthcare Workers’ High Levels of Stress
As VA employees are reporting increasing levels of burnout, and the department is facing its highest turnover rate in decades, VA has tried to put systems in place to support staff mental and emotional health.
Community Care Coordination Puts Strain on VA Staff, Finances
Since 2014, when Congress passed the Veterans Access Choice and Accountability (Choice) Act, the VA has been paying for U.S. veterans to receive increasing amounts of private sector, non-VA, care.
Cost of Community Care Has Risen Faster Than In-House VA Medical Care
President Joe Biden’s fiscal year 2023 budget request for VA totals $301.4 billion—an 13.3% jump from the FY22 enacted levels. This is in addition to an FY24 Advanced Appropriations request totaling $287 billion.
VA Hospitalizations Dropped Moderately After Legislation Allowing Outside Care
With the implementation of the Veterans’ Choice Act of 2014 (VCA), hospitalization within the VA healthcare system showed a modest decline.
VA Researcher Focuses on How to Prevent Staff Burnout at VA
For the past five years, Kara Zivin, PhD, MS, MA, has been “chasing burnout,” working to understand what causes it, how to measure it and what are the truly impactful measures that a healthcare system can take to combat it.
VA AIR Report Outdated Because Pandemic Effects Weren’t Considered
Some of the data which the VA used to support the recommendations made in its Asset and Infrastructure Report (AIR) is outdated and flawed, VA leaders recently admitted.
MHS Care Outshines Civilian Medicine in Multiple Myeloma
When a cure is not possible, longer life is the goal. For patients with multiple myeloma, extending survival is the best available option today, and one of the best ways to achieve that is to receive care through the U.S. Military Health System.
Safety Procedures Aren’t Always Followed at DHA Facilities
Dez Del Barba was only a short way into Army basic training at Fort Benning, GA, when he began to experience escalating pain in both legs. Physicians wrote it off as simple muscle soreness.
Future Employers Might Not Know About Problem Clinicians Fired by VA
A recent investigation by the VA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found widespread noncompliance by VA facilities in reporting healthcare professionals whose conduct or incompetence led them to be fired to state licensing boards (SLB) or the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB).
VA Continues Inconsistent Measurement of Veteran Wait Times for Care
On its website, VA regularly reports misleading information on how long it takes for a veteran to be seen at its facilities, according to a recent VA Inspector’s General report. That can lead to confusion among veterans and anyone researching wait times, it added.
Severe Staffing Shortages Continue to Plague VA Healthcare System
The VA healthcare system currently is grappling with about 50,000 vacancies, mostly among doctors, nurses, social workers and physician aides. In addition, the turnover rate among nurses is the highest the department has experienced since 2005.
How the DCVAMC Has Weathered Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic
The latter half of December and the first weeks of the new year were trying times for hospitals as the Omicron variant began sweeping across the country, causing infection rates and hospitalizations to rise to levels unprecedented even during the earliest months of the pandemic.
