Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
VA Report Included Clinic That Doesn't Exist. Glaring Mistake Calls Into Question Quality Of Study
New Hampshire Union Leader: VA Health Care Report Discussed A Clinic That Doesn't Exist
A market-based report that assessed the health care needs of New Hampshire and Vermont veterans listed a community clinic that did not exist. The report chronicles all the Veterans Affairs sites in the two states and included a community-based outpatient clinic in St. Johnsbury, Vt., that the report said served nearly 7,000 veterans in 2017. This community does not now or ever has had such a clinic, according to U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H. She questioned a top Department of Veterans Affairs official about the glaring mistake during a subcommittee hearing Thursday. (Landrigran, 3/16)
San Francisco Chronicle: In A First, Veterans Affairs Centers Use Genetic Testing To Treat Depression
For the first time since he began practicing medicine in 1992, [Kewchang] Lee is asking a small number of his patients to take a cheek swab for a genetic test analyzing their ability to metabolize commonly prescribed antidepressants. ...It is the first study in the VA health system to examine whether doctors gaining knowledge of their patients’ genomic composition can help shape more precise treatment plans for depression. (Ho, 3/17)
