In This Issue

Director's Letter

Director's Letter
by Seth A. Eisen, M.D., M.Sc.

Efforts to improve health care for our veterans are at the heart of VA HSR&D research. Conducting veteran-focused HSR&D research and implementing findings to improve care and clinical practice requires dedication, communication...

Commentary

Access Issues Within VA Offer Challenges, Research Opportunities
by Michael F. Mayo-Smith, M.D., M.P.H., Chief Consultant, Primary Care

...Dr. Jonathan Perlin, former Under Secretary for Health, would frequently say "Without access there is no quality." His message is a salient reminder of the need for VA HSR&D to maintain its rigorous focus on improving our understanding of the key access challenges experienced by veterans, especially those related to geographic, financial, cultural, and timeliness barriers.

Response to Commentary

Access to Care: A VA Research Agenda
William B. Weeks, M.D., M.B.A., Principal Investigator, VA Outcomes Group REAP, White River Junction, Vermont

...Dr. Mayo-Smith describes how geographic, financial, cultural, and chronological aspects of health services delivery might influence access to care. He rightly notes that organization of the health care system influences access. Three questions should drive a VA research agenda regarding access to care.

Research Highlights

Advanced Clinic Access: Enhancing Access by Reducing Clinic Wait Times
by Carol VanDeusen Lukas, Ed.D., HSR&D Center for Organization, Leadership, & Management Research, Boston, Massachusetts

...the ACA Initiative, working originally with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), built an extensive infrastructure, including: a national steering committee, a full-time national clinical director, a person designated to lead ACA in every VISN...

Telehealth Technologies: Improving Veterans' Access to Care
by Bonnie J. Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N., Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital, Columbia, Missouri

Through optimal use, telehealth technologies can be used to leverage limited health care resources to better meet the needs of older adults. The wide array of telehealth technologies has created many new and promising ways to increase access...

Access to Mental Health Treatment: The Importance of Collaboration
by Edmund Chaney, Ph.D., HSR&D Northwest Center for Outcomes Research in Older Adults, Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, Washington

...there is growing awareness that a key aspect of access to mental health treatment involves the bridge between primary care and mental health specialty programs...

Interview

Evolving Access Needs Offer Research Opportunities

Recently, FORUM sat down with Mike Davies, M.D., National Director of VHA Systems Redesign, to ask him his views on the challenges facing VA as it works to ensure timely and appropriate access to care for all veterans.