What We Think and What We Know

We think we know who our veterans are, but do we? The men and women who serve in the military are as diverse as this country, but in many ways unique. More than 22 million veterans get their health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and more than ever, their health care problems are a national issue. Policy makers, political leaders, and most importantly, health care providers need to have a better understanding of the veteran patient population and the unique challenges for treating veterans.

We already know that veterans are far more likely to have a range of medical conditions ranging from diabetes mellitus to multiple myeloma to hepatitis C to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than the United State population as a whole. Moreover, even when a disease is not necessarily more prevalent among veterans, it may be more difficult to treat: Veterans are more likely to have a mental health diagnosis, have a substance abuse issue, and have a range of other comorbidities.

To help health care providers in the VA and the private health care system understand veteran patients, Federal Practitioner is producing “Federal Health Care Data Trends.” This special issue will examine incidence, prevalence, demographics, standards of care, comorbidities, and other insights into veteran patients. Data will be pulled together from the VA, peer-reviewed research, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, among many other sources and boiled down into clear and easily understandable graphics.

The issue will provide new insights for specialists and primary care providers alike. It should be essential reading for any practitioner treating veteran patients—whether in the VA or in private practice through the Veteran Choice Program.

Federal Practitioner will bring the same rigor and focus on accuracy that marks its peer-reviewed articles. For more than 30 years, Federal Practitioner has served its audience of health care providers in the VA, Department of Defense, and Public Health Service by publishing original research, case studies, best practices, and more. While these articles are essential for telling the detailed stories of the challenges in treating veteran patients, this new publication can tell a completely new story—one that we believe will be a must read for anyone providing health care to a veteran patient.

For more information about the “Federal Health Care Data Trends” issue, feel free to reach out to me, or the Federal Practitioner sales team, National Account Representative Lea Drag ([email protected]) or Group Publisher JoAnn Wahl ([email protected]).