Telehealth

VA Uses Telehealth Technology to Bring Care Home 03/04/09. As Congress looks to craft a healthcare reform bill designed to improve the nation’s health and stem the rising costs of healthcare, it is looking to the Department of Veterans Affairs in hopes the agency can serve as a model in some areas, specifically technology and telehealth, and in providing care to patients outside of the traditional hospital system. U. S. Medicine

New Book on TBI Care - Free Online

Systems Engineering to Improve Traumatic Brain Injury Care in the Military Health System (2009) 03/04/09. This book makes a strong case for taking advantage of the best of two disciplines--health care and operational systems engineering (a combination of science and mathematics to describe, analyze, plan, design, and integrate systems with complex interactions among people, processes, materials, equipment, and facilities)-to improve the efficiency and quality of health care delivery, as well as health care outcomes. The National Academies Press

Unopened Claims Letters

Unopened claims letters hidden at VA offices 03/04/09. A new report about Veterans Affairs Department employees squirreling away tens of thousands of unopened letters related to benefits claims is sparking fresh concerns that veterans and their survivors are being cheated out of money. Federal Times

VAOIG Review of Wichita VA

Combined Assessment Program Review of the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center, Wichita, Kansas 03/03/09. The purpose of the review was to evaluate selected operations, focusing on patient care administration and quality management (QM). During the review, we provided fraud and integrity awareness training to 145 medical center employees. The review covered eight operational activities. The medical center complied with selected standards in the following two activities (1) staffing and (2) survey of healthcare experiences of patients. We identified the duty to report software program and root cause analysis teams as organizational strengths. We made recommendations for improvement in the following six activities: QM. Environment of care. Coordination of care. Emergency/urgent care operations. Medication management. Pharmacy operations. VAOIG

Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress

Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress Releases Latest Topics 03/03/09. The latest in the series of Courage to Care fact sheets targeted to support our nation’s military service members and their families are now available on the web. Suicide Facts for Primary Care Providers: Helping Service Members and Families Overcome Barriers to Care"; "Suicide Facts: What Military Families Should Know to Help Loved Ones Who May Be at Risk"; and, "Health Literacy: Addressing Communication Barriers to Foster Patient Self-Care and Family Care" have been added to the collection of educational resources available. Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) via Newswise

British Vets at Increased Risk for Suicide

Young Ex-servicemen At Increased Risk Of Suicide 02/28/09. Young men who have served in the British Armed Forces are up to three times more likely to take their own lives than their civilian counterparts, research published today (March 3) has found. The study, published in the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) Medicine, revealed that ex-servicemen under 24 years old were at greatest risk of suicide, with those in lower ranks and shorter military careers proving most vulnerable. University of Manchester via Medical News Today

VAOIG Reviews Use of Research Funds

Healthcare Inspection Review of the Veterans Health Administration's Use of Appropriated Funds for Research 02/28/09. As required by the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriation Bill, fiscal year 2009 (FY09), the VA Office of Inspector General completed a review of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) research and its relevance to veterans. The purposes of the evaluation were to (1) describe the project areas for which these funds were obligated, (2) delineate the medical requirements of veterans as demonstrated by veteran medical care utilization, and (3) evaluate the relevance of funded research to the demonstrated medical requirements of veterans. VAOIG

VAOIG Reviews Regional C&P Claims Receipt Dates

Audit of VA Regional Office Compensation and Pension Benefit Claim Receipt Dates 02/28/09. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a review to evaluate the accuracy of VA regional office (VARO) compensation and pension (C&P) benefit claim receipt dates. We initiated the review after the Veterans Benefits Administration’s (VBA) Administrative Investigation Board concluded that VARO New York intentionally reported inaccurate receipt dates for 220 (56 percent) of 390 reviewed claims. The objectives of the review were to determine if (1) other VAROs reported inaccurate claim receipt dates; (2) inaccurate claim receipt dates caused veterans or their beneficiaries to receive incorrect benefit payments; and (3) inaccurate claim receipt dates caused VBA to report incorrect claim-processing times to veterans, members of Congress, or other stakeholders. VAOIG

VAOIG Review of Birmingham VA

Combined Assessment Program Review of the Birmingham VA Medical Center Birmingham, Alabama 02/28/09. The purpose of the review was to evaluate selected operations, focusing on patient care administration and quality management (QM). During the review, we provided fraud and integrity awareness training to 83 medical center employees. The review covered eight operational activities. The medical center complied with selected standards in the following three activities: (1) environment of care, (2) survey of healthcare experiences of patients, and (3) staffing. We made recommendations for improvement in the following five activities: QM. Pharmacy operations. Coordination of care. Medication management. Emergency/urgent care operations. VAOIG

2010 VA Budget

President's 2010 Budget Request Strongly Supports VA Programs 02/26/09. President Obama's first proposed budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs expands eligibility for health care to an additional 500,000 deserving Veterans over the next five years, meets the need for continued growth in programs for the combat Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, and provides the resources to deliver quality health care for the Nation’s 5.5 million Veteran patients. VA

Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities Program

Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities Receives National ‘Best Practice’ Designation 02/25/09. The Army Community Covenant (ACC) program of the Department of the Army has recognized the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities Program (EBV) as a “National Best Practice” in serving soldiers and their families. The ACC is a Secretary of the Army initiative designed to identify, highlight, and direct soldiers and their families to programs sponsored for their benefit to assist in the transition from military to civilian life. Whitman School at Syracuse University via Newswise

Disability Evaluations

Defense, VA Reform Evaluation System for Seriously Injured Vets 02/24/09. Two years is much too long to determine service disabilities, especially when the injuries obviously qualify a service member for full benefits and compensation, a senior Defense Department official said Feb. 23. Until recently, that’s how long it took all military members to reach 100-percent-disabled status in terms of their disability compensation and medical benefits through the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. Regardless of the severity of the injuries, all went through multiple medical evaluations and screenings first with the military, only to go through the same process again with VA, Air Force Maj. Gen. Keith W. Meurlin, acting director of the Defense Department’s transition policy and care coordination office, explained. Military Health System

VAOIG Report for Bedford, NH

Combined Assessment Program Review of the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital Bedford, Massachusetts 02/24/09. The purpose of the review was to evaluate selected operations, focusing on patient care administration and quality management (QM). During the review, we provided fraud and integrity awareness training to 63 employees. The review covered eight operational activities. The hospital complied with selected standards in the following three activities: (1) pharmacy operations, (2) staffing, and (3) survey of healthcare experiences of patients. We identified improved colonoscopy timeliness, transitional beds for homeless veterans, and a computerized police response system as organizational strengths. We made recommendations for improvement in the following five activities: QM Program. Medication Management. Coordination of care. Environment of care. Emergency/urgent care operations. VAOIG

Headaches After TBI in Vets

For Iraq veterans, headaches continue after traumatic brain injury 02/23/09. Many soldiers who experienced mild head trauma or a blast exposure while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan are returning to the United States with headaches, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 61st Annual Meeting in Seattle, April 25 - May 2, 2009. American Academy of Neurology via Eurekalert!

MedlinePlus Winter 2009 Issue: Volume 4 Number 1

Feature: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 02/23/09.

• PTSD: A Growing Epidemic
• Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment
• NIH Research to Results