Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

See the following -

Suicide Epidemic Among Veterans

Armen Keteyian | CBS News | February 11, 2009

They are the casualties of wars you don't often hear about - soldiers who die of self-inflicted wounds. Little is known about the true scope of suicides among those who have served in the military. Read More »

Suicide Prevention Week: ‘Almost 3000 People Commit Suicide Daily’

Tina Burgess | examiner.com | September 3, 2012

In advance of the United States National Suicide Prevention week from September 9 to September 15 and simultaneous to the beginning of the 14th European Symposium of Suicide and Suicidal Behavior in Tel Aviv, Israel, on September 3, 2012, the VA San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS) has implemented new programs in its effort to save a life. Read More »

Suicides Outpacing War Deaths For Troops

Timothy Williams | New York Times | June 8, 2012

The suicide rate among the nation’s active-duty military personnel has spiked this year, eclipsing the number of troops dying in battle and on pace to set a record annual high since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan more than a decade ago, the Pentagon said Friday. Read More »

Super-Communities Debuting for Open Source Vertical Supply Chains

Paula Rooney | ZDNet | February 7, 2012

The emergence of super-communities — such as Polarsys, OpenMama and Genivi — will continue to evolve in 2012. These vertically-oriented super-communities, the Olliance Group point out, serve the needs of all players in open source supply chains.

Read More »

Survey: Patients Want More Open Medical Records

Marla Durben Hirsch | Fierce EMR | December 22, 2011

A striking majority of patients would like to share information in their electronic records and see what their physicians are saying about them, according to a pair of studies published in the Dec. 20 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. Read More »

Take Long View On Health Reform

Terry Schlemeier | Columbia Daily Tribune | December 15, 2013

Americans, especially the press, seem to be obsessive regarding the Affordable Care Act — or the sobriquet "Obamacare," as it has been dubbed. At first I was slightly disheartened by this, but, given further thought, it is only natural. For far too many years, we had no cohesive "system" for our health care, and now everyone, so it seems, is looking at a real system. Read More »

Task Force Calls For More 'Evidence Based' Treatment Of Veterans

David Perera | FierceGovernment | March 26, 2013

The assessment tool the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments use to assess cognitive function after a head injury, the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metric, lacks clear scientific evidence supporting its effectiveness, says a report from an Institute of Medicine task force. Read More »

Technology Helps VA Disability Claim Decisions, Official Says

Press Release | Department of Defense (DoD) | February 6, 2014

A new initiative between the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments has produced technology to help VA expedite disability claim decisions, a Defense Health Agency senior official told a House panel yesterday. Read More »

Technology Key To Approaching Overhaul Of Military Health System

Dan Bowman | FierceHealthIT | July 17, 2013

Health technology will be critical to a planned overhaul of the Military Health System, which is expected to save the U.S. Department of Defense $2.4 billion over a six-year span, according to a DoD report. Read More »

Telehealth To Grow Six-Fold By 2017

Ken Terry | InformationWeek | January 23, 2013

Remote patient monitoring will ramp up worldwide, largely driven by U.S hospitals working to reduce readmissions and avoid Medicare penalties, says InMedica study.
Read More »

Telehealth, Blue Button Boost VA To “Most Wired” List

Jennifer Bresnick | EHR Intelligence | July 22, 2013

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has joined the ranks of the nation’s “Most Wired” hospitals for the first time this year, scooping a spot on the Hospitals & Health Networks’ honor roll due to its telehealth, mHealth, and patient engagement efforts. Read More »

Telemedicine Options Improve for IHS & VA Patients

Briana Wipf | Great Falls Tribune | June 25, 2013

Connecting patients in rural locations with providers hundreds, or even thousands, of miles away continues to be a challenge for Indian Health Services and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, but one that coordinators say it’s worth it for patient care and cost savings. Read More »

Tennessee Health Department Seeking to Implement VistA

Duane Marsteller | The Tennessean | November 6, 2012

Tennessee public health state officials say their aging computer system is on the brink of collapse, so they’re hoping to convert to the Veterans Affairs system. The state agency’s current Patient Tracking Billing Management System “is not efficient and not effective,” said Dr. John Dreyzehner, the state’s health commissioner. Read More »

Texas Vets Dying Young At Alarming Rate

Barrett Welch and Leesha Faulkner | Lubbock Avalanche-Journal | September 30, 2012

A six-month investigation by the Austin American-Statesman of Texas’ Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who died after leaving the military found that an alarmingly high percentage died from prescription drug overdoses, toxic drug combinations, suicide and single-car crashes — a largely unseen pattern of early death that federal authorities are failing to adequately track. Read More »

Thanks, Roger

Bob Brewin | Nextgov | February 28, 2013

Veterans Affairs Chief Information Officer Roger Baker held his last monthly media call today, a free flowing back-and-forth unprecedented in the 28 years I have covered the federal government. Read More »