Veterans, Health Care and the VA
Consider this a follow-up to my Memorial Day post on Veterans & Health Care. There’s an interesting article over at GoozNews regarding health care for veterans at the VA. Goozner writes:
Journalist Phil Longman at the New American Foundation recently updated his book “Best Care Anywhere,” which documents the 1990s rejuvenation of the Veterans Administration’s health care system. Between editions, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan placed strains on the VA not seen since Vietnam. Here’s his thoughts on the current state of the system, and the lessons its transformation holds for other delivery systems in the U.S.
How does contact with the VA healthcare system compare in terms of
medical outcomes for its patients? How about in other measures of
quality?
In study after study published in peer‐reviewed journals, the VA beats other health care providers on virtually every measure of quality. These include patient safety, adherence to the protocols of evidence medicine, integration of care, cost‐effectiveness, and patient satisfaction. The VA is also on the leading edge of medical research, due to its close affiliation with the nation’s leading medical schools, where many VA doctors have faculty positions. The VA has its problems, but compared to those found elsewhere in the U.S. health care system, it offers “Best Care Anywhere.”
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