healthcare

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VA Gives Tranquilizers To 30 Percent Of PTSD Patients, Despite Warnings

Bob Brewin | Nextgov | March 18, 2013

The Veterans Affairs Department treats more than 30 percent of veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder with tranquilizers such as Xanax and Valium, despite clinical practice guidelines issued in 2010 warning against their use, VA’s National Center for PTSD reported. Read More »

VA Grants For Women's Health Programs Expand Telehealth Efforts

Ashley Gold | FierceHealthIT | January 29, 2013

Women's care with a special emphasis on telehealth is at the forefront of 33 grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to VA facilities. The money will go toward improving emergency healthcare services for female veterans, expanding women's health education programs and offering telehealth programs in rural areas [...]. Read More »

VA Halts All Software Development

Bob Brewin | Nextgov | October 8, 2013

The Veterans Affairs Department halted all software development Tuesday, including work on its $491 million paperless Veterans Benefits Management System. The news came a day after the department furloughed 2,754 information technology employees due to the lapse in appropriations. Read More »

VA HBPC Provides Model For Medicare, Patient-Centered Medical Homes

Kyle Murphy | EHR Intelligence | November 5, 2012

Based on its ability to manage patient care and costs effectively, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) program for providing home-based primacy care (HBPC) should serve as a model for improving similar Medicare programs, according to a recent report by the American Action Forum. Read More »

VA Head Envisions Big Improvements In Backlog

Rick Maze | Military Times | November 11, 2012

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki vows that major improvements are just over the horizon for veterans seeking benefits and health care. Read More »

VA Health Care Facilities Named To 2013 “Most Wired” Hospitals List

Press Release | Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) | July 22, 2013

The Department of Veterans Affairs, representing 152 VA medical centers, was recently named to the 2013 “Most Wired” hospitals list. Read More »

VA Health Care Quality: The Road to Recovery

David Glendinning | amednews | December 10, 2007

Despite the challenges of caring for the veterans of today's wars, the VA health system is getting high marks for quality. Read More »

VA Hires Over 1600 Mental Health Professionals To Meet Goal

Press Release | Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) | June 3, 2013

Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that it has met the goal to hire 1,600 new mental health professionals outlined in President Obama's Aug. 31, 2012, Executive Order to Improve Access to Mental Health Services for Veterans, Service Members, and Military Families. Read More »

VA Launches New Hotline For Women Veterans

Patricia Kime | Navy Times | April 29, 2013

As part of an ongoing campaign to appeal to female veterans, the Veterans Affairs Department last week established a hotline exclusively for women to answer questions about services like health care, education benefits and claims. Read More »

VA Marks The 10-Year Anniversary Of My HealtheVet

Press Release | Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) | November 26, 2013

In recognition of the 10th anniversary of its award-winning Personal Health Record, My HealtheVet (www.myhealth.va.gov), the Department of Veterans Affairs is urging all Veterans and Servicemembers to join the millions already accessing VA health care information and services online. [...] Read More »

VA Offers A New Tool To Help Veterans Prevent Diabetes

Staff Writer | Kitsap Sun | October 5, 2012

The Department of Veterans Affairs today announced the implementation of a pilot version of the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), a program being promoted nationally by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, aimed at reducing the number of Veterans who develop diabetes. Read More »

VA Officials Chart Expanded Vision For Blue Button

Wyatt Kash | AOL Government | September 28, 2012

What began as a simple way to help veterans view their personal health information over the Internet is continuing to snowball into an electronic health record phenomena known as the Blue Button, now used by more than a million patients nationally and gaining wider adoption by certain health care providers. Read More »

VA Partners With Kaiser Permanente

Press Release | Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Kaiser Permanente (KP) | February 19, 2014

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is collaborating with Kaiser Permanente, a leading member of the health care industry, to pool resources and ideas to solve some of the largest and most complex challenges in VA health care. [...] Read More »

VA Pilot Brings Together mHealth And EHRs For Better Care

Jennifer Bresnick | EHR Intelligence | December 10, 2013

Through its focus on mobile technology and patient-centric features like the Blue Button Initiative, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has proven itself a leader in the difficult task of getting patients to engage with their providers on a meaningful level.  In July, the VA announced the beginning of the Family Caregiver Pilot, which paired seriously wounded veterans and their caregivers with iPads, pre-loaded with a suite of health management tools. Read More »

VA Plans App To View VistA Imaging On Mobile Devices

Mary Mosquera | Government Health IT | November 13, 2012

The Veterans Affairs Department plans to develop an application so its healthcare providers can access medical images stored in its VistA electronic health record system via mobile devices. Read More »