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Speaking Truth to Health Policy: Helping Veterans Readjust
Every day, at least 20 combat veterans commit suicide in the United States, or one veteran every 65 seconds (Shane & Kime, 2016). This alarming trend is attributable in large part to the symptoms that many people suffer from after experiencing traumatic episodes in their lives. Drawing on the sources of power enumerated by Mason, Gardner, Hopkins Outlaw and O'Grady (2016).This paper provides a current description concerning the health policy adopted by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in response to this nation-wide problem to determine how the situation could benefit from having nurses speak truth to power. Finally, a summary of the research and important findings concerning this issue are presented in the conclusion.
The condition currently known as posttraumatic stress disorder is certainly not a new construct. In World War I, the condition was termed "shell shock" and in World War II it was referred to as "battle fatigue." When clinicians were finally able to classify this disorder formally, it became known as posttraumatic...
Unfortunately, current estimates of the number of veterans who take their own lives may be severely flawed, due in large part to the types of behaviors that combat veterans engage in following discharge from active service. As Bare (2015) points out, current estimates of veteran suicides are fundamentally flawed. For instance, according to Miller (2013), "Army studies that show how more soldiers have taken their own lives than have died in combat in Afghanistan. How different would these numbers be if high-risk behaviors linked to PTSD, such as drunk driving deaths were also included?" (p. 92). Given that the problem is well documented, it remains unclear why so many veterans continue to take their own lives every day, especially since the VA has been tasked with identifying the antecedents of suicide. As Miller (2013) emphasizes, "PTSD is much more widespread and serious than many care to admit. Although there have been key steps forward, the present measures are not yet as effective as they should be" (p. 93).
"Not yet effective as they should be," though, is a poor apology and an inadequate excuse -- the problem is clear and growing in intensity every day yet tens of thousands of veterans are sacrificed on the altar of the national consciousness each year. Because the VA is the largest healthcare provider in the United States today,…
Transparency empowers consumers to become better shoppers. Economists assert that transparency stimulates productivity, for example, in exchange for money, one individual obtaining fair value. In every aspect, except healthcare, Davis points out, transparency, is supported. The contemporary dearth of transparency in healthcare has led to many Americans not being able to effectively shop for the best quality of service at acute care hospitals. Davis argues that transparency permits consumers,
However, third-party payer systems became more popular with the increased bureaucratization of healthcare, particularly with the spread of HMOs and their complex paperwork for referrals. The use of third-party payers means "the processing of payments for insurance and other duties are handled" by another agency that is responsible for collecting premium payments and issuing reimbursements (Easey 2009). It has been alleged that the use of such third parties means that
Veterans & Retirees; Is Government Keeping its Promise This study aimed at exploring the experiences and perceptions of Veterans belonging to Lousiana and Mississippi about three variables; the accessibility of organization; the accessibility of benefits and availability and adequacy of the facilities being provided by government through VA. The respondents were also asked to suggest whether there is a need for improvement and what should VA do to provide benefits and
Veterans experience a variety of mental health problems, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, aggression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia (Wooten, 2015). More specifically, statistics indicate that up to 50% of veterans experience PTSD (Institute of Medicine [IOM], 2013). These problems often stem from exposure to combat. Mental health problems among veteran are further compounded by other problems such as financial difficulties, joblessness, marriage problems, social isolation, and homelessness (Smith
Healthcare Fraud Identity theft and fraud of many types and forms are obviously a major inconvenience and hindrance to anyone that falls prey to a person that engages that crime. There are many variants and forms of fraud and identity theft out there. One of the more insidious and nasty examples of those crimes would be that which relates to healthcare. Indeed, to have people's wallet, healthcare and the taxpayer dollar
Stated to be barriers in the current environment and responsible for the reporting that is inadequate in relation to medical errors are: Lack of a common understanding about errors among health care professionals Physicians generally think of errors as individual that resulted from patient morbidity or mortality. Physicians report errors in medical records that have in turn been ignored by researchers. Interestingly errors in medication occur in almost 1 of every 5 doses