Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

See the following -

Coding for Heroes: Second Lady Biden, Chopra, Levin Praise Civic Technologists

Luke Fretwell | Fed Scoop | January 20, 2012

Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra and Department of Veterans Affairs Chief Technology Officer Peter Levin visited the headquarters of civic technology nonprofit Code for America in San Francisco on Wednesday, where they praised the contributions of citizen developers, including work related to the Joining Forces initiative created by Biden and First Lady Michelle Obama in April 2011.

Read More »

Collaboration To Improve Healthcare Accessibility For Veterans

Press Release | Kansas Office of the Governor | November 13, 2012

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback Tuesday (11/13) applauded a new federal-state telemedicine collaboration that will improve mental and health care accessibility for Kansas veterans. The collaboration involves the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department (VA), the University of Kansas Center for Telemedicine and Telehealth (KUCTT) and Kansas hospitals across the state.

Read More »

Combat Troop Ailments Drive Medical Backlog

Gregg Zoroya and Paul Overberg | USA Today | February 1, 2012

Tens of thousands of combat troops who undergo routine health checks before returning home need treatment for ailments ranging from bad backs to mental illness, helping to drive a backlog of troops waiting for medical retirements, new Pentagon data show.

Read More »

Commentary: Micro Vs. Macro Approach To iEHR Interoperability

Mark Byers | Government Health IT | May 30, 2013

There are many approaches to achieving electronic health record (EHR) interoperability. One way is to collaborate to build an entirely new EHR from the top down. In fact, this “macro level,” top down approach was attempted — but has since been scrapped — by the [VA] and [DoD]. Read More »

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Veterans with Chronic Noncancer Pain

Lauren M. Denneson, Kathryn Corson, Steven K. Dobscha | Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development | November 21, 2011

Our results support the efforts of the VA to increase access to CAM [Complementary and Alternative Medicine] treatment options for veterans and suggest that the addition of massage therapy as a treatment option would be popular among veterans with chronic pain. Finally, clinicians should recognize that their veteran patients seeking treatment for pain may also be pursuing other modalities and should inquire about CAM to ensure compatibility with concurrent treatments.

Read More »

Concern Grows Over ‘Epidemic' Veteran Suicide Rate

Rob Hotakainen | The News Tribune | May 26, 2011

With veterans now accounting for one of every five suicides in the nation, the Department of Veterans Affairs is under pressure from both the courts and Congress to fix its mental-health services in an attempt to curb the death toll. Read More »

Congress & GAO Take Aim At DOD-VA Health Records Program

Amber Corrin and Camille Tuutti | FCW | March 7, 2013

When the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments last month announced a change of course in a long-awaited joint health records program, it sparked concerns at the Government Accountability Office. Now, the program faces further challenges from Capitol Hill. Read More »

Congress Demands No More iEHR Delays

Anthony Brino | Healthcare IT News | December 16, 2013

The Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense have come under fire this past year over their botched development of the integrated electronic health record system, which resulted in a go-live pushback and a doubling of overall costs. The myriad implementation setbacks have prompted Congress to finally put its foot down. Read More »

Congress Demands VA, DoD EHR Interoperability Progress

Anthony Brino | Government Health IT | December 13, 2013

Under the new defense authorization bill, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Defense Department will have just about a month to develop a plan for interoperable digital health records. Read More »

Congress Looks To Set Firm VA-DoD EHR Integration Timeline

Jennifer Bresnick | EHR Intelligence | July 23, 2013

A bill introduced in Congress late last month would set a firm timeline for the EHR integration efforts of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense... Read More »

Congress Probes Mental Health Services At VA

David Pittman | Medpage Today | February 13, 2013

Mental health services at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) don't seem to be improving despite increases of nearly 40% in both staff and budget in the last 6 years, a congressional committee charged Wednesday. Read More »

Congress to Defense and VA: Give Us a Plan for Integrating Health Records by February

Bob Brewin | NextGov | December 12, 2013

 The Defense and Veterans Affairs Departments will need to present a detailed plan for developing a single or interoperable electronic health record in just six weeks, based on language contained in the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act agreed to by the House and Senate Wednesday. Read More »

Consumer Guide Promotes Personal Health Records

Ken Terry | InformationWeek | September 17, 2012

The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) has issued a guide to help consumers understand how they can access their medical records and what they can do with them. Read More »

Consumer Health IT Summit - Government As Catalyst

Brian Ahier | Government Health IT | September 13, 2012

Kicking off National Health IT Week the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in conjunction with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) hosted the second Consumer Health IT Summit on Monday, September 10, 2012. Read More »

Consumer Health IT Summit - Government As Catalyst

Brian Ahier | Government Health IT | September 13, 2012

Kicking off National Health IT Week the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in conjunction with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) hosted the second Consumer Health IT Summit on Monday, September 10, 2012. Read More »