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...
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...
INDIANAPOLIS—To improve adherence to continuous positive airway pressure treatment, more emphasis needs to be put on support for sleep apnea patients in their homes, where the equipment actually is used. That’s according to a new study noting that better solutions are...
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at lowering the rate of veteran suicides. The order—the President’s Roadmap To Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide—creates a Cabinet-level task force led by VA Secretary Robert...
3D Printing Already Personalizes Care in Other Ways ANN ARBOR, MI—VA scientists in Michigan recently announced they are working to create a three-dimensional-printed artificial lung. The lab-created lung could transform treatment for some of the approximately one...
WASHINGTON—A recent survey of the military service academies found that sexual assault has spiked over the last two years, up 50% since 2016. This news sparked fresh outrage from legislators, resulting in a hearing focusing on how military sexual trauma is dealt with...
PHILADELPHIA—Michelle Brassil, MD, had been warned when she began her fellowship at the Cpl. Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center’s Community Living Center in Philadelphia. “Don’t be surprised if you’re emotional,” her supervisor told her. “It’s not like anything you...
WASHINGTON—Congress announced last month that it will be opening an investigation into alleged improper influence by three civilian consultants to President Donald Trump on administration of the VA. The three men—Ike Perlmutter, CEO of Marvel Entertainment; Bruce...
BETHESDA, MD—Black women die from breast cancer at a higher rate than white women, but exactly why remains unclear. A new study from the Military Health System just shot down one of the leading explanations for the disparity. One suggested reason for differences in...
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...
How much will implementation and integration of a new electronic health record slow down processes at the VA, which already struggles with delays in care?
VA officials told lawmakers last month that it opposes a bill that would expand the presumption of Agent Orange exposure to Vietnam veterans who served offshore because the “science is not there.”
A recently launched VA study of mortality in Vietnam veterans will examine whether exposure to liver flukes, a parasitic worm, increased the risk of cholangiocarcinoma or bile duct cancer in those veterans.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is considered crucial for in vivo detection and characterization of white matter lesions (WMLs) in multiple sclerosis.
The Army’s Performance Triad promotes quality sleep, physical activity and good nutrition, but when sleep suffers, a new tool developed by the Army can help.
With pharmacists from across the DoD and VA clamoring for spots in the Clinical Pharmacy Course at Army Medical Department Center and School (AMEDDCS) in Fort Sam Houston, TX, organizers offered back-to-back programs this spring, with another scheduled for August.
Most people looking at a hospital room will see an environment specifically designed to keep human beings alive through even the most traumatic circumstances.
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.
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.
Accounting for nearly a third of all cancer diagnoses, prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in the VHA, where past research has suggested that the malignancy is caught earlier than in other healthcare systems.
While many other cancers have seen dramatic improvement in outcomes in the past 20 years, pancreatic cancer remains one of the deadliest malignancies, regardless of stage at diagnosis, with an overall five-year survival rate of only 8%, according to the American Cancer Society.
Since the launch of the Opioid Safety Initiative in 2012, the VA has implemented a number of steps designed to reduce the use of opioids and the risk of addiction and overdose among veterans.
While the availability of novel therapies is making the future brighter for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) patients, new treatments also are coming on line for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which is a hematological cancer distinct from NHL.
Since the 1970s, mortality rates have declined, extending average lifespan by almost a decade.
Despite limited evidence to support the practice, testing for Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection is recommended for work-up of unexplained iron deficiency anemia (IDA).
Among those who are exposed to combat, it’s the weapons fire that does it. In the Navy, it’s the noise levels in engine rooms and on the decks of carriers.
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.
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.
Draft legislation that would expand the Family Caregiver Program but make eligibility for the program more restrictive raised concerns for several veterans’ groups.
New research is raising questions about whether the VA is doing enough to promote influenza vaccination of healthcare personnel.