Veterans receive the same or better care at VA medical facilities as patients at non-VA hospitals according to a recent RAND Corp study.
“The RAND study adds to a growing list of research confirming what many Veterans and VA employees believe – VA provides high-quality care,” said VA Acting Secretary Robert Wilkie. “We are constantly striving to improve our care at VA, but this should encourage Veterans and the public that VA care is, in many instances, as good as or better than the private sector.”
The study, which was published online April 25, compared each VA facility to three non-VA facilities with similar geographic settings (rural/urban,) size (number of beds) and complexity of care. The analysis focused on three of the six “Domains of Quality of Care” as defined by the Institute of Medicine, (now known as the National Academy of Medicine) including safety, effectiveness and patient-centered care.
The authors of the RAND study analyzed inpatient and outpatient performance measures used by VA and non-VA hospitals. On inpatient care, VA hospitals performed on average the same or significantly better than non-VA hospitals on 21 of 26 measures. VA performed significantly better than commercial and Medicaid Health Maintenance Organizations on 28 of 30 measures, with no difference on the other two. There was a wide variation in performance across VA, but an even wider variation among the non-VA hospitals.
For more information, see the quality data available on VA’s Access to Care website at www.accesstocare.va.gov.
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I have been a V.A. outpatient in the NorCal/Bay Area system, for overall healthcare since early ’09 and for an Agent Orange cancer (follicular lymphoma) since late 2010. Before I was a V.A. patient, I had been in a nationwide HMO that is very good, but the V.A. is at least as good and in many ways, even better. It pains all of us to hear about the scattered deficiencies at some V.A. facilities, but I have no such complaints about our region’s personnel or services. 7-1/2 years of chemotherapy and here I am, living proof of the proficiency, care and respect. Thank you.
I am 74, have never had a problem. In fact, I have to travel 3 hours to a hospital, if I need hospital care. I was afraid when I got there no one would know I was supposed to be there or where I was to go. They greeted me at the check in…this is a large VA hospital, and everywhere I had to go, the crew knew I was coming and were ready, or explained how long I would have to wait if needed.
This versus private hospital…I sat for 6 hours in a waiting room…was very ill and wanted to just lay down. Finally I got called, had to repeat my entire story; was sent to xray…had to repeat my story again! It seems that this was totally unnecessary. I will take VA any day over privatization of care!!!!!
Having used 4 VA hospitals over 20 years I have found 3 to be very good or excellent. Only one in JACKSON MS sucked big time.
I have not found the VA hospitals to be any problem. The problem exists in the seemingly philosophy
among some of the doctors that if you are in your late seventies or eighties you are close enough to death that attention should be cut back or even cut out. No “everyone” of the doctors seem this way, but even one is too much.
In my neck of the woods (Salt Lake City) I have been in several hospitals and the VA is second to none sometimes the VA will send me to the University Hospital but that is where they get their Interns Buy I think the VA is better and I have been all around Utah in fact some of the hospitals should be shut down