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The ‘modern’ VA has made great strides with patient outcomes and satisfaction scores
Data can be granular and clarifying. Conversely, data without appropriate context can lack nuance—like a paint-by-numbers portrait using only one crayon. A recent article publivenshed by Becker’s Hospital Review, and promoted by the medical network Doximity, listed the top 10…
Navigating the red tape: A case for hybrid ORs in the VA
The United States military has access to the most cutting-edge equipment to perform its duties, so we should expect nothing less for its veterans. As vascular surgeons, we all appreciate the importance of high-functioning, cutting-edge equipment. Over the past decade,…
Early data show ‘dramatic improvement’ in amputation-free survival after initiation of novel ‘Limb Alert’ for acute limb ischemia
This advertorial is sponsored by Tampa General Hospital. In cases of acute limb ischemia (ALI), time is of the essence, says Charles J. Bailey, MD—from the moment a patient first reports to the emergency room (ER) through to the time…
Veterans Affairs: A call to surveillance
For many of those injured in combat, the transition in care from the Military Health System (MHS) to the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) can be a daunting one, fraught with logistical and clerical challenges. The deluge of administrative tasks as…
Researchers study role of frailty in post-discharge mortality
Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) members have developed new methods and tools to assess patient frailty and possible surgical outcomes more simply before patients undergo vascular surgical procedures. Larry Kraiss, MD, Shipra Arya, MD, SM, and Julie Hales, MS, RN,…
Tying healthcare waste and spending to productivity incentives
A 74-year-old woman was recently hospitalized for a pulmonary embolus from acute deep vein thrombosis (DVT) of the mildly edematous left lower leg. She had previous DVT in the same leg 10 years ago, wore stockings and was active. She…
Innovation within the Veterans Health Administration
If one were to ask the average citizen where cutting-edge technology is developed, the most probable answer would be “private industry”; think Apple, Tesla, Uber. This lies in the belief that the U.S. government is slow, risk-averse and cumbersome when…
VA: Cutting through the ‘red tape’ of research
Creating an academic career with a perfect blend of clinical work and protected time for productive research is a struggle for many surgeon-scientists. Many have viewed a surgical career in the Veterans Health Administration as a perfect opportunity to achieve…
Veterans with claudication who undergo revascularization ‘significantly more likely to have major amputation than those who do not’
Patients within the Veterans Affairs Administration healthcare system who underwent an intervention for intermittent claudication (IC) were consistently at three-to-four times greater risk of undergoing subsequent amputation compared to those who did not, researchers at Stanford University report. Furthermore, Intervention…