The relationships among age, chronic conditions, and healthcare costs. (1/7)

OBJECTIVE: To learn how age and chronic illness affect costs in the Veterans Affairs healthcare system. STUDY DESIGN: Veterans Affairs patients 65 years or older were identified from administrative data. We noted their healthcare utilization, cost, and diagnosis of any of 29 common chronic conditions (CCs). We examined how those 80 years or older differed from the younger patients. RESULTS: The Department of Veterans Affairs spent dollars 8.5 billion to treat 1.6 million older patients in fiscal year 2000. Age was less important than chronic illness in explaining cost differences. The oldest patients incurred a mean of dollars 1295 greater costs than the younger patients, primarily because they were more likely to have a high-cost CC. The oldest patients incurred higher total costs than the younger patients in only 14 of 29 groups defined by CC. Long-term care accounted for most of the extra cost of the oldest patients. When this cost was excluded, the oldest patients incurred only dollars 266 more cost than the younger patients. CONCLUSIONS: Growth in the population of the oldest patients will increase the number of individuals with CCs requiring long-term care. With its limited long-term care benefit, Medicare will avoid much of this financial consequence. In contrast, the financial risk of acute and long-term care gives the Department of Veterans Affairs an incentive to develop strategies to prevent CCs associated with long-term care.  (+info)

The mobile Army surgical hospital (MASH): a military and surgical legacy. (2/7)

Operation Iraqi Freedom was perhaps the last military campaign that will ever utilize the services of a mobile Army surgical hospital (MASH). The Army has now essentially replaced the MASH with combat surgical hospitals (CSH) and forward surgical teams (FST). MASH units were designed as mobile, flexible, forward-deployed military hospitals, providing care for the wounded near the frontlines of the battlefield. These hospitals not only saved thousands of lives during war but also greatly influenced the delivery of trauma and critical care in civilian hospitals. The MASH was made popular by the television series of the 1970s, depicting the 4077th during the Korean War. Although a comical series, these television episodes provided viewers with a glimpse of life in a MASH during time of war. This article chronicles the history of the MASH from its inception during World War II to recent experiences in Operation Iraqi Freedom.  (+info)

Anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression in Korean War veterans 50 years after the war. (3/7)

BACKGROUND: There has been no comprehensive investigation of psychological health in Australia's Korean War veteran population, and few researchers are investigating the health of coalition Korean War veterans into old age. AIMS: To investigate the association between war service, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression in Australia's 7525 surviving male Korean War veterans and a community comparison group. METHOD: A survey was conducted using a self-report postal questionnaire which included the PTSD Checklist, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale and the Combat Exposure Scale. RESULTS: Post-traumatic stress disorder (OR 6.63, P<0.001), anxiety (OR 5.74, P<0.001) and depression (OR 5.45, P<0.001) were more prevalent in veterans than in the comparison group. These disorders were strongly associated with heavy combat and low rank. CONCLUSIONS: Effective intervention is necessary to reduce the considerable psychological morbidity experienced by Korean War veterans. Attention to risk factors and early intervention will be necessary to prevent similar long-term psychological morbidity in veterans of more recent conflicts.  (+info)

Military service and men's health trajectories in later life. (4/7)

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Herbicide exposure and veterans with covered service in Korea. Final rule. (5/7)

This document adopts as a final rule the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) proposal to amend VA adjudication, medical, and vocational rehabilitation and employment regulations to incorporate relevant provisions of the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003. Specifically, this document amends VA regulations regarding herbicide exposure of certain veterans who served in or near the Korean demilitarized zone and regulations regarding spina bifida in their children. It also amends VA's medical regulations by correcting the Health Administration Center's hand-delivery address.  (+info)

Causes of death of prisoners of war during the Korean War (1950-1953). (6/7)

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Women veterans' healthcare delivery preferences and use by military service era: findings from the National Survey of Women Veterans. (7/7)

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