Gulf War Illnesses:
Reexamination of Research Emphasis and Improved Monitoring of Clinical Progress Needed
T-NSIAD-97-191: Published: Jun 25, 1997. Publicly Released: Jun 25, 1997.
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GAO discussed the results of its study on the government's clinical care and medical research programs relating to illnesses that members of the armed forces might have contracted as a result of their service in the Persian Gulf War, focusing on the: (1) efforts of the Departments of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs' (VA) to assess the quality of treatment and diagnostic services provided to Gulf War veterans and their provisions for follow-up of initial examinations; (2) government's research strategy to study the veterans' illnesses and the methodological problems posed in its studies; and (3) consistency of key official conclusions with available data on the causes of the veterans' illnesses.
GAO noted that: (1) over 100,000 Gulf War veterans have participated in DOD and VA health examination programs; (2) of those veterans examined by DOD and VA, nearly 90 percent reported a wide array of health complaints and disabling conditions; (3) although efforts have been made to diagnose veterans' problems and care has been provided to many eligible veterans, neither DOD or VA has systematically attempted to determine whether ill Gulf War veterans are any better or worse today than when they were first examined; (4) federal research on Gulf War veterans' illnesses and factors that might have caused their problems has not been pursued proactively; (5) the majority of the research has focused on the epidemiological study of the prevalence and cause of Gulf War illnesses rather than the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of them; (6) while this epidemiological research will provide descriptive data on veterans' illnesses, methodological problems are likely to prevent researchers from providing precise, accurate, and conclusive answers regarding the causes of veterans' illnesses; (7) ongoing epidemiological federal research suffered from two methodological problems: a lack of case definition, and absence of accurate exposure data; (8) without valid and reliable data on exposures and the multiplicity of agents to which the veterans were exposed, researchers will likely continue to find it difficult to detect relatively subtle effects and to eliminate alternative explanations for Gulf War veterans' illnesses; and (9) support for some official conclusions regarding stress, leishmaniasis (a parasitic infection), and exposure to chemical agents was weak or subject to alternative interpretations.
Feb 11, 2021
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Electronic Health Records:
VA Has Made Progress in Preparing for New System, but Subsequent Test Findings Will Need to Be AddressedGAO-21-224: Published: Feb 11, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 11, 2021.
Feb 1, 2021
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Veterans Community Care Program:
Immediate Actions Needed to Ensure Health Providers Associated with Poor Quality Care Are ExcludedGAO-21-71: Published: Feb 1, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 1, 2021.
Jan 14, 2021
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Prescription Drugs:
Department of Veterans Affairs Paid About Half as Much as Medicare Part D for Selected Drugs in 2017GAO-21-111: Published: Dec 15, 2020. Publicly Released: Jan 14, 2021.
Dec 10, 2020
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VA Construction:
VA Should Enhance the Lessons-Learned Process for Its Real-Property Donation Pilot ProgramGAO-21-133: Published: Dec 10, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 10, 2020.
Dec 9, 2020
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VA Disability Benefits:
Process for Identifying Conditions Presumed to be Service Connected and Challenges in Processing Complex Gulf War Illness ClaimsGAO-21-253T: Published: Dec 9, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 9, 2020.
Nov 12, 2020
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Veterans Health Care:
Agency Efforts to Provide and Study Prosthetics for Small but Growing Female Veteran PopulationGAO-21-60: Published: Nov 12, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 12, 2020.
Sep 30, 2020
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VA Health Care:
Additional Steps Could Help Improve Community Care Budget EstimatesGAO-20-669: Published: Sep 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 30, 2020. -
Veterans Community Care Program:
Improvements Needed to Help Ensure Timely Access to CareGAO-20-721T: Published: Sep 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 30, 2020.
Sep 28, 2020
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Veterans Community Care Program:
Improvements Needed to Help Ensure Timely Access to CareGAO-20-643: Published: Sep 28, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 28, 2020.
Sep 21, 2020
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VA Disability Benefits:
VA Should Continue to Improve Access to Quality Disability Medical Exams for Veterans Living AbroadGAO-20-620: Published: Sep 21, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 21, 2020.
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