The VA is approaching a point where one-half of all care paid for by the healthcare system will be delivered through community providers. Outside care accounted for 44% of all VA health services last year, it said.
Overall Prescriptions Are Low at VHA for CVD, CKD Protective Diabetes Drugs
Even though novel therapies for type 2 diabetes have been proven to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease progression, VHA prescription rates remain low.
Grants Could Help Lower Suicides Among Native American Veterans
VA recently announced that it has awarded $52 million in grants to 80 community-based organizations to deliver or coordinate suicide prevention programs and services for veterans and their family members.
VA Patients Not Told About Risks of COVID-19 Drug Remdesivir Under EUA
VA failed to provide many COVID-19 patients with all the required information when prescribing them remdesivir, according to a recent VA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report.
Selection of Supply Chain Management Will Be Test of VA’s New Acquisition Framework to Assure Agency Gets Value for Its Money
As VA moves forward with its long-delayed search for a supply chain management system, the department plans to use the process as a de-facto trial of its new acquisitions’ framework–a system designed to ensure the department uses its money effectively when it comes to major projects.
Intimate Partner Violence More Common With Veterans, Military Personnel
VA should be doing more to identify and support victims of intimate partner violence (IPV), according to a recent VA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report that also maintained that programs already in place are inconsistently implemented.
Healthcare Providers Urged to Increase Firearm Safety Counseling With Veterans
Most, 70%, of suicides among U.S. veterans are due to firearm injury. Yet, according to a new study, not enough veterans are taking advantage of the opportunity to discuss firearm safety with their healthcare providers.
Nonprofit Group: VA Undercounted Thousands of Veteran Suicides
The same week that VA announced a decrease in the national veteran suicide rate, early results from an independent study suggested that the department has been drastically undercounting the total number of veteran suicides for years.
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.
Veterans Receiving Cancer Diagnoses Have Increased Suicide Risks
Research has shown that a cancer diagnosis is associated with an increased risk of suicide, which might be attributed in part to factors such as interpersonal struggles, hopelessness, physical pain and strain, financial distress and relationship changes.
Republican Legislators Express Strong Opposition to VA Offering Abortion Services
VA officials believe that the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June and the subsequent enforcement of abortion bans in several states creates a clear danger to the health of women veterans.
New Tool Estimates Age-Specific Prostate Cancer Risk
A multi-ancestry polygenic risk score (PRS) that stratifies prostate cancer risk across populations has been developed. In a recent study, the developers validated the performance of the PRS in the multi-ancestry Million Veteran Program and additional independent studies.
Survival Rates Better for Prostate Cancer With Radical Prostatectomy
Clinicians haven’t had information on the optimal upfront treatment modality for patients with nonmetastatic Gleason Score 9 and 10 prostate cancer (GS 9-10 PCa).
Second Cancer More Common With Radiotherapy for Prostate Cancer
When men are diagnosed with localized prostate cancer, they are often faced with a difficult decision.
PACT Act: Hundreds of Thousands of Veterans Newly Eligible for VA Care
As of the first day this month, the VA expanded and extended eligibility for VA healthcare for specific veterans of the Gulf Wars and post-9/11 era.
High Prescribing of Antibiotics, Opioids Linked In Medical, Dental Providers
Medical and dental providers who are high prescribers of antibiotics are also likely to be high prescribers of opioids, according to a new study.
PTSD Appears to Accelerate Multiple Sclerosis Progression for Veterans
An unfortunate confluence of events puts a significant number of veterans at higher risk of both multiple sclerosis and post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTSD). Agent Orange and other exposures make multiple sclerosis (MS) a presumptive condition for those who have served, while combat experience, higher rates of sexual assault and other factors increase the likelihood of PTSD among veterans.
HIV-Positive Veterans Have Higher Risk of Head and Neck Cancer
Thanks to the use of combination antiretroviral therapy, life expectancy is greater than it has ever been for people living with HIV/AIDS. But with that increase in life expectancy comes an increase in the number of non-AIDS-defining cancers.
Study Finds Significant Regional Variations in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment and Survival Rates Within Nationwide VA Healthcare System
Veteran populations have five times the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)—the most common primary malignancy of the liver, which occurs largely in patients with underlying chronic liver disease—compared to the general population
Glargine, Liraglutide More Effective for Reaching, Maintaining T2D Targets
Clinicians treating Type 2 diabetes have an arsenal of medications to help lower glucose levels in patients with uncontrolled blood sugar. The key question regards which work best to lower glucose levels and keep them low.
Diabetes Genetic Risk Score Linked to Dementia in Some Veterans
Using the VA’s Million Veteran Program data, a new study has determined that a diabetes genetic risk score is associated with all-cause dementia and clinically diagnosed vascular dementia in veterans.
Rural T2D Patients Improved With Remote VA Care
How did a novel approach to provide diabetes specialty team care to rural veterans with Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) affect clinical outcomes and processes of care?
T2D Drugs Didn’t Differ in Preventing CV Complications
Not many studies have looked at the comparative effectiveness of commonly used glucose-lowering medications, when added to metformin, on preventing microvascular and cardiovascular disease outcomes in Type 2 diabetes.
Columbus, OH, VAMC Is Latest Facility to Face Problems With New EHR
Staff at the Columbus, OH, VAMC, the last VA facility where the department’s new electronic health record system was installed, are experiencing many of the same kinds of problems that occurred in Spokane, WA, where the EHR was piloted.
Clostridioides Difficile Infection Increases Mortality, Costs for MHS Patients
One of the largest studies ever of healthcare-facility-associated Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) underscored the seriousness of the infection, which causes significantly increased length of stay, higher costs, and, worst of all, greater mortality among inpatients.
Kearney Tries to Get Troubled Veterans to Talk About Suicide Concerns
Most of the career of Lisa Kearney, PhD, at the VA has revolved around reducing the stigma associated with mental healthcare and increasing access for veterans who need it.
New Center at NYU Will Focus on How Social Factors Might Affect Veterans Using Telehealth for Cancer
As part of a larger initiative, a center will be established at New York University to determine how social factors might affect the delivery of telehealth for cancer care.
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.
Elnahal Is First Permanent VA Under Secretary for Health Since 2017
The Senate voted to confirm Shereef Elnahal, MD, MBA, as the next VA undersecretary for health, making him the first Senate-confirmed person in that role since 2017.
Aspirin Helps Protect Hypertensive Patients from Melanoma
Dose aspirin used by hypertensive patients reduce their risk of melanoma?
