WASHINGTON—Currently, women make up 10% of U.S. veterans, and that percentage grows higher with each new generation of veterans. Yet, there has historically been in enrollment between men and women in VA services, and it has become more apparent as the number of women...
VA’s COVID-19 Cases Quadruple Between Early June, Late July
Number of Infected Employees Also Is Growing WASHINGTON—As the number of new coronavirus cases rose throughout the country, VA’s caseload grew as well, with the number of VA’s active COVID-19 cases more than quadrupling between the beginning of June and the end of...
Pandemic Puts Spotlight on Problems With VA’s Healthcare Supply Chain
WASHINGTON—The difficulties VA faced during the early weeks of the pandemic ensuring its facilities had an adequate supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) confirmed what agency officials have recognized for some time: The healthcare system’s supply chain system...
VA’s Hydroxychloroquine Stockpile Mainly Being Used for Chronic Disease
FDA Rescinds Drug’s Emergency Use for COVID-19 WASHINGTON—After months of controversy on the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for severe COVID-19, the Food and Drug Administration rescinded the emergency use authorization (EUA) allowing physicians to...
VA Plans for the Unimaginable: A Natural Disaster During the Pandemic
WASHINGTON—Hurricane season officially began on June 1, and VA officials were asked by legislators to reassure the American public that the department was capable of dealing with another natural disaster while remaining on a pandemic footing. VA leaders expressed...
Rural Areas Present Challenges for Gathering Medication History
BIRMINGHAM, AL—Even more than other veterans, those in rural areas often see providers and obtain medications outside the VA system, in many cases because the closest VA facility might be distant from their home or they have a primary care provider in their community....
DoD Targets 8,000 Units of Convalescent Plasma in Battle Against COVID-19
FALLS CHURCH, VA—The DoD has committed to collecting more than 8,000 units of plasma from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 by September 30, 2020. The collection will enable researchers to better understand trends in antibody production in individuals who have...
TRICARE Changes in 2020 Seek to Lower Pharmacy Spending at DoD
The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2000 included a directive for the secretary of defense to establish an integrated pharmacy benefits. Since that time, the pharmacy benefit from TRICARE, the military’s healthcare program, has changed significantly, creating new benefits, strengthening the safety of the drugs it prescribes and having a direct impact on how patients manage their healthcare. Now, changes in copayments, enrollment fees, deductibles and catastrophic caps have been put into place this year in hopes of lowering pharmacy spending, which made up more than half the cost of military healthcare in 2018.
Vigilance at VA Community Living Centers in the Time of COVID-19
Editor’s note: The VA asked if U.S. Medicine could help disseminate important information on its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is a discussion from some of the agency’s top leaders. By Carolyn Clancy, MD, Teresa Boyd, DO, and Scotte Hartronft, MD We believe...
Mortality, Amputation from Critical Limb Ischemia Declining at VA
IOWA CITY, IOWA — High rates of diabetes, obesity, smoking, and other risk factors elevate veterans’ risk of peripheral artery disease (PAD) and critical limb ischemia.
VA Trial Seeks to Determine if ADT Is Protective Against COVID-19 in Men
LOS ANGELES — That men tend to have worse outcomes with COVID-19 has been observed since the beginning of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Sleep Apnea Increases Need for Opioids in Veterans
WEST HAVEN, CT — Does sleep disruption caused by obstructive sleep apnea lead to hyperalgesia and contribute to poor pain control and use of prescription opioids?
Auricular Acupuncture Effective for Short-Term Pain
FARGO, ND — Battlefield Acupuncture is a unique auricular procedure use by many VHA facilities, according to a new study which suggested that, based on past research, it can reduce pain for up to two weeks.
Statin Effect on Death in Veterans With Prostate Cancer
SAN ANTONIO — As the most common cancer in men in the United States, prostate cancer is associated with a prolonged survival and patient care often includes optimizing other comorbidities, such as cardiovascular disease.
PTSD Raises Risk for Cancer Pain in VHA Patients
BOSTON — While research has shown a link between chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder, not much is known about the longitudinal course of pain and PTSD during cancer treatment, according to a new study.
Does Medicare Policy Influence End-of-Life Care At VHA?
NEW HAVEN, CT — Although fee-for-service Medicare does not allows simultaneous receipt of cancer treatment and hospice care—i.e, concurrent care—VHA does.
VA Pushes for More Use of NSCLC Targeted Therapies
DURHAM, NC — To help guide therapeutic decisions for patients with advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer, Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) gene panels are often completed.
IHS Faces Challenges as Navajo Nation Becomes New COVID-19 Epicenter
WINDOW ROCK, AZ — The Indian Health Service) and the Native American communities it serves saw the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact reach new heights in May.
VA’s IG: Unrealistic EHR Rollout Could Have Put Patients at Risk
WASHINGTON — The VA Inspector General released two long-awaited reports last month examining problems with the roll-out of VA’s new electronic health record system at its pilot site, the Mann-Grandstaff VAMC in Spokane, WA, and the news was not good.
Too High Rate of Diabetes Therapy Intensification at VA Hospital Discharge
BOSTON — About 10% of older veterans discharged from VAMCS had their diabetes medication intensified, even though half of them were unlikely to benefit because either they already had reached their blood glucose goals or had limited life expectancy.
McCoy Helps Rural VA Clinic Use Telehealth to Improve COPD Care
EAST LIVERPOOL, OH — As VA facilities across the country are transferring veterans’ care wherever possible to telehealth in an attempt to promote social distancing and curtail unnecessary visits to hospitals and clinics, one rural outpatient clinic in Ohio is well ahead of the curve.
VA/DoD Take On Extensive Research Roles as Coronavirus Cases Wane
WASHINGTON—As the number of cases of COVID-19 seen in hospitals in many states decline, the VA and DoD have turned from active support of overwhelmed facilities to building deeper understanding of the disease and its impacts through new research studies and continued...
VA Vows to Be Better Prepared If COVID-19 Case Spike in Autumn
WASHINGTON — According to VA leaders, the department will be better prepared if COVID-19 infections spike again in the fall, as many health experts are predicting it will.
Satisfaction With Telehealth Visits Building Among VA-Treated Veterans
WASHINGTON — When the VA recently received $17.2 billion in funding from the CARES Act, one of the priorities was providing telehealth resources for veterans seeking in-home care.
VA Juggled Reopening While COVID-19 Increased in Some Areas
WASHINGTON—Last month, VA facilities were engaged in the same juggling act as healthcare organizations across the country—continuing to deal with a pandemic that in some areas of the country was worsening, while moving forward with plans to ease restrictions...
VA Defends Use of Hydroxychloroquine in Veterans With COVID-19
WASHINGTON — Legislators and veterans advocates are concerned about VA’s continued use of hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial also commonly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, on COVID-19 patients.
VA’s EHR Rollout Indefinitely Delayed by COVID-19 Pandemic
DoD Bidirectional Information Sharing Was Launched, However WASHINGTON—The rollout of VA’s new electronic health record system has been delayed again, this time due to the coronavirus. Just prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States, VA had announced it...
VA Faces Critical PPE Shortages After Orders Diverted by FEMA
Masks, Other Protective Equipment Went Into Federal Stockpile WASHINGTON—While early in the pandemic VA leaders repeatedly said that their facilities had enough personal protective equipment for its staff to weather the crisis, reports began circulating last month of...
Open for Business: How VA Is Coping With COVID-19 Pandemic
WASHINGTON—On March 4, VA announced its first coronavirus patient—a veteran at the Palo Alto VAMC. Seven weeks later, the system had 6,363 reported cases and 400 inpatient deaths nationwide. As of press time in late April, at least 132 VA facilities had treated...
DoD Attacks COVID-19 on Multiple Fronts, Battling Virus in Every State
WASHINGTON—Divide and conquer. The DoD is taking a new tack on the old advice, dividing the huge demand for support across the country among the services and related agencies in an effort to surmount this wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of April, more than...
