Veterans Health Administration Healthcare System Research Articles

Development and implementation of a nationwide multidrug-resistant organism tracking and alert system for Veterans Affairs medical centers.

Develop and implement a system in the Veterans Health Administration (VA) to alert local medical center personnel in real time when an acute- or long-term care patient/resident is admitted to their facility with a history of colonization or infection with a multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) previously identified at any VA facility across the nation. An algorithm was developed to extract clinical microbiology and local facility census data from the VA Corporate Data Warehouse initially targeting carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The algorithm was validated with chart review of CRE cases from 2010-2018, trialed and refined in 24 VA healthcare systems over two years, expanded to other MDROs and implemented nationwide on 4/2022 as "VA Bug Alert" (VABA). Use through 8/2023 was assessed. VABA performed well for CRE with recall of 96.3%, precision of 99.8%, and F1 score of 98.0%. At the 24 trial sites, feedback was recorded for 1,011 admissions with a history of CRE (130), MRSA (814), or both (67). Among Infection Preventionists and MDRO Prevention Coordinators, 338 (33%) reported being previously unaware of the information, and of these, 271 (80%) reported they would not have otherwise known this information. By fourteen months after nationwide implementation, 113/130 (87%) VA healthcare systems had at least one VABA subscriber. A national system for alerting facilities in real-time of patients admitted with an MDRO history was successfully developed and implemented in VA. Next steps include understanding facilitators and barriers to use and coordination with non-VA facilities nationwide.

Trends in Cardiovascular Disease Mortality in US Women Veterans vs Civilians

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death in the US. Women veterans have higher rates of CVD compared with civilian US women; however, analyses of recent trends in mortality from cardiac disease for women veterans are lacking. To investigate trends in cardiac disease mortality among women veterans over approximately the past 2 decades and compare rates with those for civilian women. In this retrospective longitudinal cohort study, US Veterans Health Administration (VHA) electronic health record data, linked with the National Death Index, were analyzed for CVD trends and rates of cardiac disease mortality among women veterans (aged 18 years or older) with VHA health care encounters from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2017. These data were compared with a national cohort of civilian women (aged 15 years or older) in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (CDC WONDER) database, which provides cause-of-death data using death certificates for all US residents. The data analysis was performed between March 10, 2021, and November 28, 2022. Cardiac disease mortality among women veterans and civilian women. Cardiac disease mortality was based on International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision diagnostic codes (I00-I09, I11, I13, and I20-I51 as defined by CDC WONDER). For women veterans and civilian women, crude and age-adjusted cardiac disease mortality rates (per 100 000 life-years) and 95% CIs were calculated, with the 2000 US general population as the reference for age-adjusted rates. From 2000 to 2017, 817 912 women veterans engaged with VHA health care (mean [SD] age, 45.7 [17.1] years), and 19 022 cardiac disease deaths were identified (22.4% of total deaths). The crude and age-adjusted cardiac disease mortality rates, respectively, per 100 000 life-years were 200.2 (95% CI, 181.0-221.0) and 197.6 (95% CI, 175.2-222.0) in 2000 and 196.0 (95% CI, 186.1-206.4) and 208.1 (95% CI, 196.4-220.4) in 2017, reflecting stable crude rates and a 5.3% increase in age-adjusted rates. For civilian women, the crude and age-adjusted rates decreased over time from 320.7 (95% CI, 319.7-321.8) and 268.1 (95% CI, 267.3-269.0) in 2000 to 220.9 (95% CI, 220.1-221.7) and 164.7 (95% CI, 164.1-165.3) in 2017. In this cohort study comparing women veterans and civilian women, cardiac disease mortality rates for women veterans did not exhibit the improvements seen for civilian women during the nearly 2-decade study period. Further research and actionable clinical interventions are warranted to improve cardiovascular care for women veterans, who represent the fastest growing group of patients within the VHA health care system.

Shifting Culture Toward Age-Friendly Care: Lessons From VHA Early Adopters.

The need for a health care workforce with expanded skills in the care of older adults is increasingly evident as the US population ages. The evidence-based Age-Friendly Health Systems (AFHS) framework establishes a structure to reliably assess and deliver effective care of older adults with multiple chronic conditions: what matters, medication, mentation, and mobility (4Ms). Half of veterans receiving Veterans Health Administration (VHA) care are aged ≥ 65 years, driving its transformation into the largest AFHS in the US. In this article, we offer lessons on the challenges to AFHS delivery and suggest opportunities to sustaining age-friendly care. Within 3 months of implementation, 85% to 100% of patients received 4M care in all care settings at our VA facilities. Key lessons learned include the importance of identifying, preparing, and supporting a champion to lead this effort; garnering facility and system leadership support at the outset; and integration with the electronic health record (EHR) for reliable and efficient data capture, reporting, and feedback. Although the goal is to establish AFHS in all care settings, we believe that initially including a geriatrics-focused care setting helped early adoption of 4Ms care in the sites described here. Early adopters at 2 VHA health care systems demonstrated successful AFHS implementation spanning different VHA facilities and care settings. Successful growth and sustainability may require leveraging the EHR to reduce documentation burden, increase standardization in care, and automate feedback, tracking, and reporting. A coordinated effort is underway to integrate AFHS into VHA documentation, performance evaluation, and metrics in both the legacy and new Cerner EHRs.

Findings from a Peer-Facilitated, Social Isolation Intervention in the Veterans Health Administration Healthcare System: A Mixed-Methods, Pilot Feasibility Study.

Social isolation is a global public health threat. Veterans are particularly at risk for social isolation due to high rates of comorbid physical and mental health problems. Yet, effective interventions are limited. Our primary objective was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of CONNECTED, a novel, transdiagnostic intervention to reduce social isolation that includes individual and group components and is delivered by peers via telehealth. Secondary objectives were to identify appropriate outcome measures and explore preliminary intervention effects. This was a two-phase study. In Phase 1, to evaluate study feasibility, we surveyed 200 veterans to assess prevalence of social isolation and their interest in social connectedness interventions. In Phase 2, we employed a mixed-methods, pre-post study design in which we piloted CONNECTED with 19 veterans through 2 successive cohorts to further assess feasibility, to evaluate acceptability, and to explore preliminary effectiveness. Quantitative analyses involved descriptive and bivariate analyses as well as multivariate modeling. Qualitative interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. For Phase 1, 39% of veterans surveyed were socially isolated. Participants who were ≤ 55years old, caregivers, and those who experienced unmet social needs were more likely to report social isolation. Over 61% expressed interest in VA programs to reduce social isolation. For Phase 2, the pilot intervention, recruitment rate was 88% and the enrollment rate was 86%. Retention rates for the two cohorts were 80% and 50%, respectively, and satisfaction rates among intervention completers were 100%. Results also showed statistically significant improvements in social isolation (+ 5.91, SD = 4.99; p = .0028), social support (+ 0.74, SD = 1.09; p = .03), anxiety (-3.92, SD = 3.73; p = .003), and depression (-3.83, SD = 3.13; p = .001). Results for the other measures were not statistically significant. CONNECTED is a feasible and acceptable intervention and is likely to be an effective tool to intervene on social isolation among veterans.

Validation of an algorithm to identify fractures among patients within the Veterans Health Administration.

To validate an algorithm that identifies fractures using billing codes from the International Classification of Diseases Ninth Revision (ICD-9) and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) for inpatient, outpatient, and emergency department visits in a population of patients. We identified and reviewed a random sample of 543 encounters for adults receiving care within a single Veterans Health Administration healthcare system and had a first fracture episode between 2010 and 2019. To determine if an encounter represented a true incident fracture, we performed chart abstraction and assessed the type of fracture and mechanism. We calculated the positive predictive value (PPV) for the overall algorithm and each component diagnosis code along with 95% confidence intervals. Inverse probabilities of selection sampling weights were used to reflect the underlying study population. The algorithm had an initial PPV of 73.5% (confidence interval [CI] 69.5, 77.1), with low performance when weighted to reflect the full population (PPV 66.3% [CI 58.8, 73.1]). The modified algorithm was restricted to diagnosis codes with PPVs > 50% and outpatient codes were restricted to the first outpatient position, with the exception of one high performing code. The resulting unweighted PPV improved to 90.1% (CI 86.2, 93.0) and weighted PPV of 91.3% (CI 86.8, 94.4). A confirmation sample demonstrated verified performance with PPV of 87.3% (76.0, 93.7). PPVs by location of care (inpatient, emergency department and outpatient) remained greater than 85% in the modified algorithm. The modified algorithm, which included primary billing codes for inpatient, outpatient, and emergency department visits, demonstrated excellent PPV for identification of fractures among a cohort of patients within the Veterans Health Administration system.

Evidence-Based Intervention Adaptations Within the Veterans Health Administration: a Scoping Review.

Veterans receiving care within the Veterans Health Administration (VA) are a unique population with distinctive cultural traits and healthcare needs compared to the civilian population. Modifications to evidence-based interventions (EBIs) developed outside of the VA may be useful to adapt care to the VA healthcare system context or to specific cultural norms among veterans. We sought to understand how EBIs have been modified for veterans and whether adaptations were feasible and acceptable to veteran populations. We conducted a scoping review of EBI adaptations occurring within the VA at any time prior to June 2021. Eligible articles were those where study populations included veterans in VA care, EBIs were clearly defined, and there was a comprehensive description of the EBI adaptation from its original context. Data was summarized by the components of the Framework for Reporting Adaptations and Modifications to Evidence-based interventions (FRAME). We retrieved 922 abstracts based on our search terms. Following review of titles and abstracts, 49 articles remained for full-text review; eleven of these articles (22%) met all inclusion criteria. EBIs were adapted for mental health (n = 4), access to care and/or care delivery (n = 3), diabetes prevention (n = 2), substance use (n = 2), weight management (n = 1), care specific to cancer survivors (n = 1), and/or to reduce criminal recidivism among veterans (n = 1). All articles used qualitative feedback (e.g., interviews or focus groups) with participants to inform adaptations. The majority of studies (55%) were modified in the pre-implementation, planning, or pilot phases, and all were planned proactive adaptations to EBIs. The reviewed articles used a variety of methods and frameworks to guide EBI adaptations for veterans receiving VA care. There is an opportunity to continue to expand the use of EBI adaptations to meet the specific needs of veteran populations.

Research Priorities to Support Women Veterans' Reproductive Health and Health Care Within a Learning Health Care System.

Research Priorities to Support Women Veterans' Reproductive Health and Health Care Within a Learning Health Care System.

Veterans Health Administration National TeleOncology Service.

As the largest integrated health care system in the United States, the Veterans Health Administration (VA) is a leader in telehealth-delivered care. All 10 million Veterans cared for within the VA are eligible for telehealth. The VA cares for approximately 46,000 Veteran patients with newly diagnosed cancer and an estimated 400,000 prevalent cases annually. With nearly 38% of VA health care system users residing in rural areas and only 44% of rural counties having an oncologist, many Veterans lack local access to specialized cancer services. We describe the VA's National TeleOncology (NTO) Service. NTO was established to provide Veterans with the opportunity for specialized treatment regardless of geographical location. Designed as a hub-and-spoke model, VA oncologists from across the country can provide care to patients at spoke sites. Spoke sites are smaller and rural VA medical centers that are less able to independently provide the full range of services available at larger facilities. In addition to smaller rural spoke sites, NTO also provides subspecialized oncology care to Veterans located in larger VA medical facilities that do not have subspecialties available or that have limited capacity. As of fiscal year 2021, 23 clinics are served by or engaged in planning for delivery of NTO and there are 24 physicians providing care through the NTO virtual hub. Most NTO physicians continue to provide patient care in separate traditional in-person clinics. Approximately 4,300 unique Veterans have used NTO services. Approximately half (52%) of Veterans using NTO lived in rural areas. Most of these Veterans had more than one remote visit through NTO. NTO is a state-of-the-art model that has the potential to revolutionize the way cancer care is delivered, which should improve the experience of Veterans receiving cancer care.

Screening for Latent Infections Among Users of High-Risk Immunosuppressants: A Cross-Sectional Analysis From the Veterans Health Administration Healthcare System.

Guidelines recommend screening for latent hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and tuberculosis (TB) before initiating biologics or targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (b/ts DMARDs) to avoid reactivation of life-threatening infections. The extent to which such screening occurs in the national Veterans Health Administration (VA) healthcare system is unknown. Using data from the Veterans Affairs' (VA) Corporate Data Warehouse, we performed a cross-sectional analysis of veterans receiving b/ts DMARDs between October 1, 2017, and September 30, 2019. We calculated the proportion of patients with screening completed for latent HBV, HCV, and TB between October 1, 1999 and September 30, 2019. Patient characteristics associated with complete screening were evaluated using mixed-effects multivariate logistic regression models. We also examined facility-level factors associated with high versus lower performance. A total of 51,764 unique patients from 129 VA facilities received b/ts DMARDs from 2017 to 2019. Of these, 63% had complete screening. Among the 11,006 patients identified as new users, 64% had complete screening. Higher screening rates were observed among Hispanic/Latinx and Black/African American patients, users of B-cell therapies, and patients who had seen oncology subspecialists. Substantial variation was observed across facilities, with complete screening ranging from 13% to 98% of patients. Higher screening rates were associated with highly complex, urban, and higher-volume facilities. Approximately two-thirds of veterans taking b/ts DMARDs have received guideline-recommended screening for HBV, HCV, and TB, but substantial facility variation was observed. Performance measures, robust multidisciplinary workflows, and electronic health record-based tools to feed information back to providers may improve screening rates for low-performing facilities.

Evaluating the MyPath web-based reproductive decision support tool in VA primary care: Protocol for a pragmatic cluster randomized trial

BackgroundCounseling to identify and support individuals' desires for family formation is a key component of preventive health care that is often absent in primary care visits. This study evaluates a novel, web-based, person-centered intervention to increase the frequency and quality of communication about reproductive goals and healthcare needs in Veterans Health Administration (VA) primary care. MethodsWe describe a hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation cluster randomized controlled trial in seven VA healthcare systems testing a web-based reproductive health decision support tool (MyPath). VA primary care providers are enrolled and randomized to intervention or usual care arms. Veterans scheduled to see intervention-arm providers receive a text message inviting them to use MyPath ahead of their appointment; Veterans scheduled to see control-arm providers receive usual care. Target enrollment is 36 providers and 456 Veterans. Outcomes are assessed by Veteran self-report after the visit and at 3- and 6-months follow-up. The primary outcome is occurrence of reproductive health discussions involving shared decision making; secondary outcomes include measures of communication, knowledge, decision conflict, contraceptive utilization, and receipt of services related to prepregnancy health. Data on implementation barriers, facilitators and cost are collected. ResultsThe trial is ongoing with no results to report. We have enrolled 36 primary care providers across 7 VA healthcare systems and recruitment of Veterans is ongoing. ConclusionsResults will inform efforts to increase the quality and person-centeredness of reproductive healthcare delivery in primary care and to operationalize and scale up use of digital decision support tools in clinical settings.Trial Registration:http://ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04584294Trial Status: Recruiting.

Factors That Affect Legionella Positivity in Healthcare Building Water Systems from a Large, National Environmental Surveillance Initiative.

Legionella growth in healthcare building water systems can result in legionellosis, making water management programs (WMPs) important for patient safety. However, knowledge is limited on Legionella prevalence in healthcare buildings. A dataset of quarterly water testing in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) healthcare buildings was used to examine national environmental Legionella prevalence from 2015 to 2018. Bayesian hierarchical logistic regression modeling assessed factors influencing Legionella positivity. The master dataset included 201,146 water samples from 814 buildings at 168 VHA campuses. Overall Legionella positivity over the 4 years decreased from 7.2 to 5.1%, with the odds of a Legionella-positive sample being 0.94 (0.90-0.97) times the odds of a positive sample in the previous quarter for the 16 quarters of the 4 year period. Positivity varied considerably more at the medical center campus level compared to regional levels or to the building level where controls are typically applied. We found higher odds of Legionella detection in older buildings (OR 0.92 [0.86-0.98] for each more recent decade of construction), in taller buildings (OR 1.20 [1.13-1.27] for each additional floor), in hot water samples (O.R. 1.21 [1.16-1.27]), and in samples with lower residual biocide concentrations. This comprehensive healthcare building review showed reduced Legionella detection in the VHA healthcare system over time. Insights into factors associated with Legionella positivity provide information for healthcare systems implementing WMPs and for organizations setting standards and regulations.

Assessment of burnout and pandemic fatigue among pharmacy leadership in the Veterans Health Administration healthcare system.

PurposeFactors associated with burnout in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) pharmacy leadership positions were examined during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.MethodsA questionnaire was distributed to all pharmacy executives of the VHA healthcare system. It collected demographic and employment characteristics, career satisfaction and work-related variables, indicators of burnout using validated single-item measures adapted from the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychosocial and work-related variables. A χ 2 test with Bonferroni correction was used to evaluate the data. Burnout was defined as a score of 4 or greater on either of the 2 single-item validated statements adapted from the Maslach Burnout Inventory to assess emotional exhaustion and depersonalization.ResultsIn total, 407 (of 1,027; 39.6%) VHA pharmacy leaders representing Veterans Integrated Service Network pharmacy executives, chiefs of pharmacy, associate chiefs of pharmacy, and inpatient and outpatient supervisors completed the survey. The overall prevalence of burnout was 68.6% using the aggregate measure of emotional exhaustion or depersonalization. Pharmacy leaders who worked more than 60 hours a week reported significantly greater rates of burnout than those who worked 40 to 60 hours a week (86.7% vs 66.9%, χ2 = 7.34, degrees of freedom = 1, P < 0.05). Those experiencing increased workload related to COVID-19 also reported high burnout rates (72.1%, χ2 = 16.40, degrees of freedom = 1, P < 0.001). Burnout scores were similar across groups when respondents were stratified by leadership position, gender, age, or years in position.ConclusionAs of March 2021, two-thirds of pharmacy leaders were experiencing burnout. It is important for healthcare system leadership to identify patterns of burnout among their pharmacy leaders to ensure a productive and sustainable workforce.

Care rejection and aggression among veterans with dementia with and without posttraumatic stress disorder: A multi-group analysis

BackgroundIn residential long-term care, military service veterans with co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dementia encounter a range of physical and social stimuli that may serve as triggers of trauma-related distress that manifests as care rejection or aggression. Yet, PTSD rarely has been examined in research to understand behaviors of care rejection and aggression in veterans with dementia. ObjectivesGuided by the need-driven dementia-compromised behavior model, we examined the moderation effect of PTSD on pathways from background factors and interpersonal triggers to rejection of care and aggression among veterans with dementia with and without co-occurring PTSD. DesignSecondary data analysis of the Staff Training in Assisted Living Residences-Veterans Health Administration (STAR-VA) intervention evaluation by the U.S. Veterans Health Administration healthcare system. Setting76 Veterans Health Administration-operated nursing homes. Participants315 veterans with dementia who participated in STAR-VA. MethodsWe converted text data on the occurrence of care rejection and aggression to binary variables, combined them with data on sociodemographic and PTSD status obtained using medical chart review, and measured anxiety, cognition, depression, and function using validated instruments. A multi-group structural equation modeling analysis was then conducted to test the moderating effect of PTSD on rejection of care and aggression. ResultsAlthough multi-group structural equation modeling did not support the hypothesis of overall moderation by PTSD, distinct patterns between the two groups were observed with respect to how background factors and interpersonal triggers related to care rejection and aggression. The magnitude of the direct effects of interpersonal triggers on rejection of care was greater in veterans with PTSD (β = 0.42, p = .014 compared to those without β = 0.29, p = .008). Depression had a statistically significant indirect effect on rejection of care via interpersonal triggers only in veterans with PTSD (β = 0.09, p = .009). Functional status had a statistically significant direct effect on aggression only in the PTSD group (β = 0.28, p = .044). ConclusionsOur study identified similar and distinct patterns of relationships among background factors, interpersonal triggers, and rejection of care and aggression between veterans with dementia with and without PTSD. The indirect effect of depression on care rejection via interpersonal triggers has implications for developing targeted interventions that focus on interpersonal triggers for veterans with dementia with PTSD who have greater depressive symptoms. This study underscores the importance of an enhanced focus on trauma-informed care for veterans with dementia and PTSD.

Preferences Elicited and Respected for Seriously Ill Veterans through Enhanced Decision-Making (PERSIVED): a protocol for an implementation study in the Veterans Health Administration

BackgroundEmpirical evidence supports the use of structured goals of care conversations and documentation of life-sustaining treatment (LST) preferences in durable, accessible, and actionable orders to improve the care for people living with serious illness. As the largest integrated healthcare system in the USA, the Veterans Health Administration (VA) provides an excellent environment to test implementation strategies that promote this evidence-based practice. The Preferences Elicited and Respected for Seriously Ill Veterans through Enhanced Decision-Making (PERSIVED) program seeks to improve care outcomes for seriously ill Veterans by supporting efforts to conduct goals of care conversations, systematically document LST preferences, and ensure timely and accurate communication about preferences across VA and non-VA settings.MethodsPERSIVED encompasses two separate but related implementation projects that support the same evidence-based practice. Project 1 will enroll 12 VA Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) programs and Project 2 will enroll six VA Community Nursing Home (CNH) programs. Both projects begin with a pre-implementation phase during which data from diverse stakeholders are gathered to identify barriers and facilitators to adoption of the LST evidence-based practice. This baseline assessment is used to tailor quality improvement activities using audit with feedback and implementation facilitation during the implementation phase. Site champions serve as the lynchpin between the PERSIVED project team and site personnel. PERSIVED teams support site champions through monthly coaching sessions. At the end of implementation, baseline site process maps are updated to reflect new steps and procedures to ensure timely conversations and documentation of treatment preferences. During the sustainability phase, intense engagement with champions ends, at which point champions work independently to maintain and improve processes and outcomes. Ongoing process evaluation, guided by the RE-AIM framework, is used to monitor Reach, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance outcomes. Effectiveness will be assessed using several endorsed clinical metrics for seriously ill populations.DiscussionThe PERSIVED program aims to prevent potentially burdensome LSTs by consistently eliciting and documenting values, goals, and treatment preferences of seriously ill Veterans. Working with clinical operational partners, we will apply our findings to HBPC and CNH programs throughout the national VA healthcare system during a future scale-out period.

Hepatitis B Virus-related Care Quality in Patients With Hepatitis B/Human Immunodeficiency Virus Coinfection Versus Hepatitis B Monoinfection: A National Cohort Study.

Guideline-adherent hepatitis B virus (HBV) care is critical for patients with HBV, particularly patients with HBV-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) given increased risks of liver-related complications. However, a comprehensive assessment of HBV-related care in patients with HBV-HIV is lacking. We retrospectively assessed adherence to HBV-related care guidelines in all patients with HBV-HIV and HBV monoinfection (HBV-M) in the national Veterans Health Administration healthcare system in 2019. We identified 1021 patients with HBV-HIV among 8323 veterans with chronic HBV. Adherence to HBV guidelines was similar or better in HBV-HIV versus HBV-M, including HBV treatment (97% vs 71%), biannual hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance (55% vs 55%) for patients with cirrhosis, hepatitis A virus screening (69% vs 56%), hepatitis C virus screening (100% vs 99%), and on-therapy alanine aminotransferase monitoring (95% vs 96%). Compared with those seeing gastroenterology (GI) or infectious diseases (ID) providers, patients without specialty care were less likely to receive antiviral treatment (none, 39%; GI, 80%; ID, 84%) or HCC surveillance (none, 16%; GI, 66%; ID, 47%). These findings persisted in multivariable analysis. Compared with ID care alone, a higher proportion of patients with HBV-HIV seen dually by GI and ID received HCC surveillance (GI + ID 73% vs ID 31%) and on-therapy HBV-DNA monitoring (GI + ID, 82%; ID, 68%). Patients with HBV-HIV received similar or higher rates of guideline-adherent HBV-related care than patients with HBV-M. Patients with HBV-HIV under dual GI and ID care achieved higher quality care compared with ID care alone. Specialty care was independently associated with higher quality HBV care in patients with HBV-HIV and HBV-M.

Women Veterans' Attrition from the VA Health Care System.

Patient attrition from the Veterans Health Administration (VA) health care system could undercut its mission to ensure care for eligible veterans. Attrition of women veterans could exacerbate their minority status and impede systemic efforts to provide high-quality care. We obtained women veterans' perspectives on why they left or continued to use VA health care. A sampling frame of new women veteran VA patients was stratified by those who discontinued (attriters) and those who continued (non-attriters) using VA care. Semistructured interviews were conducted from 2017 to 2018. Transcribed interviews were coded for women's decision-making, contexts, and recommendations related to health care use. Fifty-one women veterans (25 attriters and 26 non-attriters) completed interviews. Reasons for attrition included challenging patient care experiences (e.g., provider turnover, claim processing challenges) and the availability of private health insurance. Personal experiences with VA care (e.g., gender-specific care) were impactful in women's decision to use VA. The affordability of VA care was influential for both groups to stay connected to services. More than one-third of women originally categorized as attriters described subsequently reentering or planning to reenter VA care. Suggestions to decrease attrition included increasing outreach, improving access, and continuing to tailor care delivery to women veterans' needs. Understanding the drivers of patients' decisions to use or not use the VA is critical for the development of strategies to improve retention of current patients and optimize health outcomes for veterans. Women veterans described complex reasons why they left or continued using VA, with cost/affordability playing an important role even in considerations of returning to VA after a long hiatus.

Digital Health Skillsets and Digital Preparedness: Comparison of Veterans Health Administration Users and Other Veterans Nationally.

BackgroundAs health care systems shift to greater use of telemedicine and digital tools, an individual’s digital health literacy has become an important skillset. The Veterans Health Administration (VA) has invested resources in providing digital health care; however, to date, no study has compared the digital health skills and preparedness of veterans receiving care in the VA to veterans receiving care outside the VA.ObjectiveThe goal of the research was to describe digital health skills and preparedness among veterans who receive care within and outside the VA health care system and examine whether receiving care in the VA is associated with digital preparedness (reporting more than 2 digital health skills) after accounting for demographic and social risk factors.MethodsWe used cross-sectional data from the 2016-2018 National Health Interview Survey to identify veterans (aged over 18 years) who obtain health care either within or outside the VA health care system. We used multivariable logistic regression models to examine the association of sociodemographic (age, sex, race, ethnicity), social risk factors (economic instability, disadvantaged neighborhood, low educational attainment, and social isolation), and health care delivery location (VA and non-VA) with digital preparedness.ResultsThose who received health care within the VA health care system (n=3188) were younger (age 18-49 years: 33.3% [95% CI 30.7-36.0] vs 24.2% [95% CI 21.9-26.5], P<.01), were more often female (34.7% [95% CI 32.0-37.3] vs 6.6% [95% CI 5.5-7.6], P<.01) and identified as Black (13.1% [95% CI 11.2-15.0] vs 10.2% [95% CI 8.7-11.8], P<.01), and reported greater economic instability (8.3% [95% CI 6.9-9.8] vs 5.5% [95% CI 4.6-6.5], P<.01) and social isolation (42.6% [95% CI 40.3-44.9] vs 35.4% [95% CI 33.4-37.5], P<.01) compared to veterans who received care outside the VA (n=3393). Veterans who obtained care within the VA reported more digital health skills than those who obtained care outside the VA, endorsing greater rates of looking up health information on the internet (51.8% [95% CI 49.2-54.4] vs 45.0% [95% CI 42.6-47.3], P<.01), filling a prescription using the internet (16.2% [95% CI 14.5-18.0] vs 11.3% [95% CI 9.6-13.0], P<.01), scheduling a health care appointment on the internet (14.1% [95% CI 12.4-15.8] vs 11.6% [95% CI 10.1-13.1], P=.02), and communicating with a health care provider by email (18.0% [95% CI 16.1-19.8] vs 13.3% [95% CI 11.6-14.9], P<.01). Following adjustment for sociodemographic and social risk factors, receiving health care from the VA was the only characteristic associated with higher odds (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.36, 95% CI 1.12-1.65) of being digitally prepared.ConclusionsDespite these demographic disadvantages to digital uptake, veterans who receive care in the VA reported more digital health skills and appear more digitally prepared than veterans who do not receive care within the VA, suggesting a positive, system-level influence on this cohort.

Health System Resiliency and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of a New Nationwide Contingency Staffing Program.

When COVID-19 emerged, the U.S. Veterans Health Administration (VA) was in the process of implementing a national contingency staffing program called Clinical Resource Hubs (CRHs). CRHs were intended to provide regional contingency staffing for primary and mental health clinics experiencing staffing shortages primarily through telehealth. Long-term plans (year 2) included emergency management support. Early in the implementation, we conducted semi-structured interviews with CRH directors and national program leaders (n = 26) and used a rapid analysis approach to identify actions taken by CRHs to support the resiliency of the VA healthcare system during the pandemic. We found that the CRH program was flexible and nimble enough to allow VA to leverage providers at hubs to better respond to the demands of COVID-19. Actions taken at hubs to sustain patient access and staff resiliency during the pandemic included supporting call centers and training VA providers on virtual care delivery. Factors that facilitated CRH’s emergency response included hub staff expertise in telehealth and the increased acceptability of virtual care among key stakeholders. We conclude that hub providers serving as contingency staff, as well as specialization in delivering virtual outpatient and inpatient care, enabled VA health system resiliency and recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What Do You Want Us to Know?: Learning From Life Stories to Improve Veterans' Healthcare Experiences.

My Life My Story (MLMS) is a national Veterans Health Administration (VA) life story interview program that aims to provide more humanistic care for veterans by focusing on the patient as a person. Our project took place at the Pittsburgh VA Healthcare System and had 3 main goals: (1) describe themes that emerge in MLMS interviews from the prompting question, what do you want your healthcare provider to know about you?; (2) identify topics of importance to veterans and suggest ways for healthcare providers to explore them; and (3) foster a culture at the Pittsburgh VA that places not only the health but also the personal triumphs, hardships, and aspirations of veterans at the center. Veterans provided verbal consent to have their previously recorded stories used in this study. Stories were coded and then analyzed for patterns and themes. A total of 17 veterans participated in our study. Themes that emerged from the stories include (1) Early Hardships; (2) Economic Disadvantage; (3) Polaroid Snapshots; (4) Around the World; (5) Haunted by Combat; (6) Life-altering Moments; (7) Homecoming; (8) Romantic Beginnings & Obstacles; (9) Inequity across Gender & Race; and (10) Facing Mortality. This study's findings underscore the need to address the traumas associated with military service, as well as the challenges faced with re-integration into civilian life, when working with veterans. The MLMS interviews explored in this study can help clinicians identify topics of importance to veterans, strengthen their relationships with their patients, and improve the care that veterans receive.

212. Measuring the Morbidity of Infectious Complications of the Opiate Epidemic: A Retrospective Cohort Study

BackgroundMany states have reported that the incidence of invasive bacterial and viral infections has risen alongside rates of opiate use and injection drug use. The aim of this exploratory project is to characterize the incidence of invasive bacterial infections (IBI) over time in a national Veteran population, describe screening for substance use among Veterans with IBI, and assess engagement in harm reduction services. MethodsA national, multicenter, retrospective cohort of Veterans admitted to the Veterans Health Administration (VA) between 10/1/2008 – 9/30/2018 with a positive blood culture was created using electronic health record (EHR) data. Patients’ demographics, clinical characteristics, microbiologic cultures, prescription history, laboratory values, and administrative coding data were extracted from the EHR. All analyses were performed in Microsoft Excel. ResultsAmong 5,158,137 inpatient admissions during the study period, we identified 257,926 unique patients with bacteremia (5.0%). The incidence of bacteremia/sepsis increased consistently during the study period, rising from 2.29 per 10,000 patient-days to 5.97 per 10,000 patient-days across the national VA healthcare system (Figure 1). Among Veterans with bacteremia, 17,436 (6.8%) had prior history of substance use and 24,927 (9.7%) had a history of hepatitis C virus infection. In 196,295 cases (76.1%), no urine toxicology screening was completed or the result was negative. 34,005 (13.2%) of patients with bacteremia had at least one urinary toxicology positive for opiates and of these, 6,173 (18.1%) had documentation of a prescription for either naltrexone or buprenorphine/naloxone prior to admission or on hospital discharge. ConclusionSimilar to findings in other populations, the incidence of IBI has steadily increased within the national VA. Despite limited screening, a high proportion of patients admitted to the VA with IBI were found to have underlying substance use. Additional work, including increased screening, is needed to assess the uptake of evidence-based interventions, such as naloxone, and to identify optimal strategies for improving adoption of other harm reduction services in this population. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures