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Research Highlights
VA Maintained Quality in Shift from Hospital Care in Mid-'90s
October 7, 2003
Survival rates among chronically ill veterans remained constant in the mid-1990s despite a sharp reduction in hospital-based care provided by the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system, reported researchers in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study was the largest assessment to-date of the impact on veterans of VA's shift nearly 10 years ago from a hospital-based system to one emphasizing primary and outpatient care. Researchers in Houston studied the records of 342,300 chronically ill veterans to track their health care and survival between 1994 and 1998. The study showed VA hospital stays fell by 50 percent and outpatient care increased by about 10 percent. Patient survival rates remained steady.
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