Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
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The $2.7 Trillion Medical Bill: Colonoscopies Explain Why U.S. Leads The World In Health Expenditures
Deirdre Yapalater’s recent colonoscopy at a surgical center near her home here on Long Island went smoothly [...]. The test, which found nothing worrisome, racked up what is likely her most expensive medical bill of the year: $6,385. Read More »
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The Biggest Mistake Doctors Make
Misdiagnoses are harmful and costly. But they're often preventable. [...] Such devastating errors lead to permanent damage or death for as many as 160,000 patients each year, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. Read More »
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The DoD's Problem With VistA Could Be Its Solution
Defense Department intransigence on the subject of its electronic health record is well known, as is the collapse earlier this year of an effort to create a joint core system that both it and the Veterans Affairs Department would utilize. Read More »
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The High Cost of PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment
Yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office released a study on the Veterans Affairs Department's treatment of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, which showed that dealing with these invisible wounds of war carries a high financial price tag. Read More »
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The IT Dashboard: Not Exactly Transparent
Is the Federal IT Dashboard really providing more transparency or just more fog? Read More »
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The IT VistA Gets Larger
The 24th meeting of the WorldVistA community wrapped up a three-day run Sunday at University of California Davis. WorldVistA is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2002 to promote the use of an open-source version of the VistA system outside the Veterans Affairs Department, where the VA has been developing the EHR for more than 30 years. Read More »
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The Last Battle: Efforts To Provide Mental Health Care For War Veterans Falling Short
The last battle of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is being fought at home. And in 2012, the military and the VA have done more than ever to respond to the anguish of men and women who are haunted by war...But there is little evidence that the tide has turned in the battle. Read More »
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The Last Battle: Is The Army Doing Enough To Help Soldiers Suffering From Mental Health Problems?
The Army has rolled out program after program aimed at identifying and helping soldiers who suffer from mental health problems related to a decade of war. Despite those efforts, figures show that soldiers and veterans continue to commit crimes and take their own lives in record numbers.
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The Long Haul For New PTSD/TBI Research Projects
President Obama has announced new research projects focused “on developing more effective ways to prevent, diagnose and treat mental health conditions like TBI and PTSD.” Read More »
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The Moral Dimensions Of PTSD
On this Veterans Day, hundreds of thousands of veterans suffer from combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). That medical diagnosis shouldn't disguise that this is more than a medical problem. Read More »
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The Mystifying Misperception
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have raised our historical ineptitudes to a crisis level. The prevalence of traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder have left thousands of returning soldiers incapable of managing their own care...The combination of the above factors has inflicted an unprecedented strain on the resources available to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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The Nerd-In-Residence
The Department of Veterans Affairs has named me a "nerd-in-residence." You can find more under VA team bios > Craig Newmark. Read More »
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The Next Generation: A Comprehensive Electronic Health Record
The Network for Public Health Law is holding their 2012 Public Health Law conference this week in Atlanta, focusing on the Practical Approaches to Critical Challenges in Public Health Law, and I have been in attendance...But what struck me, was how little we really take time to think about the impact the work we are doing has upon our individual lives and those of our families. Read More »
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The OSEHRA Value Proposition
This post is a follow-up to a presentation made at the OSEHRA lock-down and provides various updates in an attempt to engage dialogue supporting or rebutting various value elements of OSEHRA and the challenges OSEHRA has in becoming a successful organization. Read More »
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The Power Of Open Source Collaboration Increases VistA EHR Security
Who would like to hear a great story about the power of open source? I had just started working at the Open Source Electronic Health Record Agent (OSEHRA) and the concept of open source was new to me. I had yet to be convinced of its influence and impact, when this happened… Read More »
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