Department of Veterans Affairs

VA Cuts Homelessness, SDOH by 55% with Housing First Model

January 31, 2024 - The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) was able to reduce homelessness by 55 percent over a 13-year period, demonstrating the power of integrating social determinants of health interventions into the healthcare setting, researchers wrote in JAMA Network Open. The intervention, which flagged veteran patients for housing instability, rehoused them,...

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VA Facilities Parallel Non-VA Sites in Care Access, Safety, and Quality

by Sarai Rodriguez

For many years, the Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system has faced criticism for its shortcomings in patient care, including care access, safety, and quality. However, recent studies have shown...

Mental Healthcare Access for Rural Veterans Lower Than Urban Areas

by Sara Heath

A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) study sheds light on the geographic health disparities in mental healthcare access for veterans, prompting calls for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)...

Racial Disparities in VA Appointment Wait Times Worsened Amid COVID-19

by Sarai Rodriguez

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Black and Hispanic veterans seeking medical care through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) were more likely to face longer VA appointment wait times. Recent...

GAO Advises VA to Improve Specialty Appointment Scheduling Compliance

by Sarai Rodriguez

More than half of all veterans lack timely specialty care access within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) specialty appointment scheduling standards, according to a recent report from the...

More Patients Lack Care Access as Emergency Department Wait Times Spike

by Sarai Rodriguez

A pair of new studies shine a light on how overcrowding and staffing shortages may be impacting emergency department (ED) wait times and patient care access. The studies, based on EHR data from across...

VA Patient Appointment Wait Times Vary Across the United States

by Sarai Rodriguez

Veterans seeking medical care through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have experienced long and disparate patient appointment wait times across various healthcare settings, even after...

Wilkie: VA Care Access Standards Boost Quality, Not Privatization

by Sara Heath

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will be revamping its patient care access standards as a part of the 2018 MISSION Act, a move the agency says will promote better patient care, not VA...

Patients Still Struggle to Access Mental Health Care at VA

by Sara Heath

More than a third of veterans struggle to access mental health care within the VA system despite a high prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a recent survey from the Wounded...