In most head-to-head comparisons, surgical care at the VHA is found to be as good or better than that provided in the community. That’s why a recent study on joint replacement surgery was so surprising.
BCG Vaccine Doesn’t Protect Against COVID-19 Infection, Severity
At an earlier point in the COVID-19 pandemic, hopes were raised that the BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) vaccine, which stimulates innate immunity, could provide protection against SARS-CoV-2.
Efforts to Gather More Data on Veteran Patients Sparks Controversy
On numerous occasions, VA officials testifying before Congress have, upon being asked, been unable to provide accurate demographics on the department’s patient population, because the information had not been collected or collated.
mAb Therapies Effective Against Severe COVID-19 in Native American Cohort
Monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies were highly effective against COVID-19 in a recent study of Native Americans — a group that has been underrepresented in clinical trials for COVID-19 therapies despite being at greater risk for severe disease.
Patients With Uncontrolled HIV Face Higher Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death
A new veterans study underscored the critical need for viral suppression and heart disease risk factor modification among HIV patients. Researchers determined that those with sustained viremia or low CD4 cell counts had an excess risk of sudden death.
OIG: Lack of Planning Made Illinois CLC COVID-19 Outbreak Worse
From almost the very start of the pandemic, nursing homes and long-termcare facilities proved to be particularly vulnerable to the virus. The close quarters combined with elderly patients suffering from preexisting illnesses resulted in a number of outbreaks and a much higher death rate than the general population.
Military Surgeon Readiness Continues to Decline as Patient Caseloads Drop
Military surgeon readiness continues to decrease because of declining workload, and a new study suggested that patient flow care at the MHS will have to dramatically change to reverse the situation.
LA VAMC Researcher Works to Create Racial, Ethnic, Gender Equity in Healthcare
When Donna Washington, MD, MPH, moved to Los Angeles for a health services fellowship at UCLA following her residency, she imagined that she would end up working in a county or public health system.
House VA Committee Investigates Recruitment of Veterans by Extremist Groups
What role, if any, does VA have in preventing the recruitment of veterans into organizations that promote violence against the United States and its citizens? A trio of hearings hosted by the House Veterans Affairs Committee explored the question.
If in doubt, don’t. If still in doubt, do what’s right.
There were mornings during my deployment in Iraq in 2003 when I would wake up covered in fine dust and black ash on my cot in our communal tent. One typically slept wearing only shorts. Sweat would cut rivulets through the talcum powder dust on my chest, creating interesting modern art mosaics. The smell of burned plastic and human waste often permeated the air. It is an odor that is indelibly etched in my mind from my time in Balad, Iraq, at the 21st Combat Support Hospital (CSH). Mornings like this suggested an unfavorable wind had blown from the Balad Air Base burn bit located across the street from the CSH.
PTSD Can Worsen Dying Experience for Veterans Facing End of Life
Most veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder don’t just age out of it. At their end of life, veterans with PTSD often frequently exhibit irritability with their caregivers, sleep problems, nightmares, anxiety, guilt, lack of acceptance and restlessness, according to recent research.
Flush Out the Foe: Veterans Beat Cancer With Help From Their (Screening) PALS
Recognizing the substantially greater risk for lung cancer faced by veterans, the VA has aggressively ramped up its screening program to reach those at-risk wherever they are.
Identifying Vulnerabilities: Choosing the Best Treatments for Real Patients
The open secret about most clinical trials is that they are not particularly useful, at least not for patients and practicing physicians. Trials typically establish criteria that restrict participation to unusually healthy patients.
Know Your Enemy: Genomics Enables Targeted Strikes on Cancer
As every military strategist knows, winning a battle depends on knowing your adversary’s vulnerabilities. In the last decade, that same approach has transformed cancer therapy.
Understanding the Breath-Taking Lung Cancer Risks in Servicemembers, Veterans
OMAHA, NE—Lung cancer kills as many people in the United States as the next three most deadly cancers combined. This year, about 236,000 people will be diagnosed with the disease, and nearly 132,000 will die from it. As common as it is in the general population, lung...
Work Setting Strongly Affects Retention Rates for Women’s Health Providers
The delta variant’s march across America brought a crisis long in the making to the blazing front of the news—and made research coming out of the VA potentially beneficial for the wider health care industry.
Kit Needed for Self-Diagnosis and Treatment of Urogenital Infections in the Field
For women serving in challenging environments with limited access to clean water, sanitation and medical facilities, knowing how to prevent, diagnose and treat urogenital infections is essential.
Air Force Women’s Health Initiative Takes Off
With women accounting for more than 15% of all active duty forces, the health needs of women are increasingly coming to the fore. Women represent nearly 21% of the Air Force, making addressing their unique needs particularly critical for mission readiness. In response, the service has introduced a growing number of health initiatives through the Women’s Initiative Team’s (WIT) Female-Specialized Health Care Programs.
VA Increases Focus on Needs of Younger Women Patients
The Deborah Sampson Act represented a major advance for women’s health care at the VA, an area long neglected despite the steady rise in the number of women serving in the U.S. military over the last several decades.
New Concerns, New Treatments for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis
Candida, a common yeast, frequently cohabitates on skin and inside the body and typically causes little trouble. When conditions enable it to multiply rapidly or when drug-resistant strains take hold, however, it can cause a range of problems, including vulvovaginal candidiasis, one of the most common infections in women.
VA Seeks More Contractors to Support Expanding Telehealth Programs
As VA faces a post-pandemic landscape that includes an increased reliance on telehealth, it is looking to put its money where its healthcare needs are.
VA Study Questions Value of Remdesivir in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients
Last October, the Food and Drug Administration approved remdesivir, marketed as Veklury, for use in adults and children 12 and older who weight at least 40 kg for the treatment of COVID-19 requiring hospitalization.
LGBTQ Legislation Seeks to Make VA More Inclusive, Welcoming
While there has been considerable focus by VA in recent weeks on reaching out to LGBTQ veterans, especially those discharged under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell restrictions, some legislators and veterans advocates are seeking to broaden the conversation around equity and inclusion.
VHA Observational Study Finds No Links Between Testosterone, CV Events
Hormone replacement therapy can have a number of beneficial effects—improving libido and sexual function, lifting energy and mood, increasing muscle mass and bone mineral density and decreasing fat mass—in men with low levels of testosterone, according to studies.
TAPS Can Be the Start of Something Good for Veterans with Essential Tremor
Veterans are used to the sound of Taps marking an end. For a growing number, TAPS may indicate the beginning of a road to recovery of independence.
What Soldiers Are Most at Risk of Acting on Suicide Ideation?
The statistics are alarming. More soldiers die from self-inflicted gunshot wounds than combat injuries. Eighty-three percent of firearm deaths in the military are from suicide.
Rotation to Buprenorphine Effective for Pain Patients
Does rotation of buprenorphine from full μ-opioid receptor agonists improve pain-related outcomes and lessen adverse effects in patients with chronic pain and long-term use of narcotics?
Heart Failure Complicates VA Pain Prescribing
Pain and heart failure are highly comorbid, which can create problems for clinicians attempting to control the conditions.
Mixed Results for Discontinuing Chronic Opioid Therapy at VHA
While discontinuing chronic opioid therapy in veterans appears to be associated with decreased diagnoses for opioid-related adverse outcomes, the association with substance use disorders appears to be inconclusive, according to a new study.
For Veterans With Cancer, Teleoncology Offers High Patient Satisfaction
Approximately 50,000 U.S. military veterans are diagnosed with cancer annually, representing 3% of all cancers across the nation.
