Slide 1: November 11 is Veterans Day. Where do United States veterans receive their healthcare? 75% receive non-VA facility care and 25% receive VA facility care.
Despite a majority of veterans seeing non-VA providers, in a pilot study of 102 civilian PCPs, 56% of respondents revealed to have never or rarely inquired about their patients’ military status or any familial relationships with veterans.
That which is not asked can be missed. This includes chemical and environmental exposure, mental health risks, socioeconomic barriers to healthcare, and physical exam findings specific to trauma.
References
- Vest BM, Kulak J, Hall VM, Homish GG. Addressing Patients’ Veteran Status: Primary Care Providers’ Knowledge, Comfort, and Educational Needs. Fam Med. 2018 Jun;50(6):455-459. PMID 29933446.
Tags: barriers to care, military, risk factors, veteran care, veterans day
2 comments on “Veterans Day”
What a simple but utterly essential post. So basic, so important. By the laser focus on the chief complaint alone how much is surely missed.
I agree with the post above. Thanks. Though we should think of veterans-related questions on a visit with a new adult male, we often don’t, and our scribes ( our ourselves) are busy filling in the PMH and SocHx questions in the electronic record, and I usually congratulate myself if I can do a through job there. I just scrolled through the Social History section of our electronic medical record, and there are no questions related to military service. I plan to contact the folks who create the Social History questions, and ask them to add a question about military service.