Examining Women Veteran's Experiences, Perceptions, and Challenges With the Veterans Choice Program
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of Quantitative Health SciencesDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2018-07-01Keywords
Veteranshealth care access
choice
policy
women’s health
Health Services Administration
Health Services Research
Military and Veterans Studies
Women's Health
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
BACKGROUND: The Veterans Choice Program (VCP) was launched in 2014 to address the growing concerns about the timeliness and quality of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) care. Given that many sex-specific health services, such as mammography and maternity care, are not routinely provided in all VHA facilities, women Veterans may disproportionately rely on VCP care. Understanding the provision and coordination of VCP care is crucial in order to ensure that care is not fragmented across the 2 health care systems. OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this study was to understand women Veterans' experiences, perceptions, and challenges with VCP care. DESIGN: This study was a semistructured interview with 148 women at 13 VHA facilities nationwide. RESULTS: Four major themes emerged: (1) eligibility information for the VCP was limited and confusing; (2) women experienced difficulty scheduling VCP appointments; (3) VCP care results were not shared with women Veterans or their VHA providers in a timely manner; and (4) concerns with unpaid VCP bills were common. CONCLUSIONS: Our study highlights challenges women experienced with VCP care, and the need for improved care coordination. An ideal care coordination system would be the one in which all Veterans' non-Veteran Affairs care, including scheduling, follow-up, communication with community providers, coordination of services, and transition back to Veteran Affairs care is ensured.Source
Med Care. 2018 Jul;56(7):557-560. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000000933. Link to article on publisher's site
DOI
10.1097/MLR.0000000000000933Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/46738PubMed ID
29768310Related Resources
ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1097/MLR.0000000000000933
Scopus Count
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