The Veteran's Health Administration and Women Veterans - Case Study Example

The Veterans Health Administration and Women Veterans Introduction The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the biggest incorporated healthcare system in the United States. It offers inclusive care to more than 8.3 million veterans each year across the country (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2012). The VHA has ascertained itself as a leader in healthcare sector by providing quality care at reasonable prices. The image of VHA changed under able leadership of Kenneth Kizer, the previous Under Secretary for Health in the US. It has been recognized that as their source of healthcare, increasing number of veterans have started to select the VHA, which has in turn created a budgetary restraint in relation to the overall system. Contextually, it is recognized that restrictions were created in the kinds of patients who had the right to use the VHA in January, 2003. The VHA had in excess of 1400 hospitals, clinics as well as nursing homes with 14,800 doctors, 61,000 nurses and around 5 million patients as of the year 2006 (Mayo, 2006). With regard to women veterans, it can be observed that The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) started healthcare related services including ‘medical and psychosocial services’ in 1988, when participation of the women for the provided services were 4.4% among all the veterans (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2012). By 2010, women veterans made up around 14% of the total veteran population of the United States (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2012). The VHA was formed to protect the needs of mainly the male patients. The women veterans are not provided with better services and assistances compared to male veterans, which are required for the organizations to run efficiently. Most women veterans are quiet unaware of the services that are needed to be performed in healthcare organizations (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2012). Thesis Statement The paper intends to discuss the key factors behind The Veterans Health Administration faltering recently to adequately meet the primary healthcare needs of its women veterans. Consequently, certain suggestions for improvement are provided to The VHA in order to ensure that they are able to meet the basic health care needs of women veterans. Aims of Veterans Health Administration The aims of The Veterans Health Administration are to decrease the burden of illness and to increase the status of health. The most familiar way to develop the prevention program is by reducing the injuries of the patients and providing them better treatment facilities (Clinical Interventions in Aging, 2006). According to Morse, the appropriate equipments and tools are to be used properly for better treatment of patients so that there is no deficiency found in the treatment process of the patient that could hamper the lives of the patients. They are to be handled with care. This can be only possible when the organization (i.e. The Veterans Health Administration) has a clear view of the objective to be obtained. The objectives can be obtained if the goals are selected in a proper way so that improvement can be maintained by injecting better tools and techniques. There is requirement of better qualified doctors and nurses who can provide superior treatment facilities to patients. For ensuring an efficient functioning, the aims are to be maintained in meeting the objectives and certain principles are needed that can be classified as: The Aims Should Be Clearly Stated: The arrangement of a particular project is to be achieved stating an indicated aim for making it lucid and comprehensible. It should be in short and precise (Veterans Health Administration, 2010). The Aims Are To Be Based On Data: Inspection of data is to be made that are provided from the medical centers regarding staffs and patients. The aim should also suggest providing satisfactory tasks to every unit of the organization (Veterans Health Administration, 2010). Statistical Goals Are To Be Included: The objectives of the numerical data are to elucidate expectations that can be obtained if the aims are achieved in a proper way and in an efficient manner. Explaining the numerical objectives by taking steps to improve the conditions and aiming to make necessary alterations that are required for the development of the organization at large are also to be incorporated for effective functioning of the organization (Veterans Health Administration, 2010). Drifting From Set Aims to be Avoided: After the aims and the objectives are identified, the steps taken forward for achieving the desired objective are not to be taken back as it can affect the work process of the organization and the whole functioning can be in jeopardy. However, from the above observation it can be comprehend that the aims of VHA are to provide better healthcare to the patients and to reduce the ratio of the deficiency as far as possible so that the objectives of the organization can be fulfilled and more productivity and profitability can be ascertained in the work process (Veterans Health Administration, 2010). Significance of Women Veterans in Today’s Healthcare Practices Nowadays, the healthcare services of The VHA are providing proposals on wide-ranging full time medical services and also on a variety of gender precise services to women veterans. The VA provided healthcare services for women veterans comprise primary care, specialty care and telephone care services (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2012). However, there are certain barriers or differences between the provided services to male and female veterans. Thus, it is important for the VHA to identify the differences in terms of the provided service to women veterans to identify the barriers of service related activities and to attempt to mitigate those differences by making certain drastic changes in the work process. Women veterans have greater healthcare needs for which they are differentiated from the men veterans because of different experiences based on the military backgrounds. Women who are related to military backgrounds have certain exposures related to stress, chemical and environmental aspects who can provide better facilities to health organizations in the present day context. It is also important for women veterans to be included to healthcare organizations as women veterans can provide better facilities particularly to the women patients who are manifested with diseases as compared to male veterans. However, it is observed that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mainly concentrates on the aspect of service delivery for women while different researches have been conducted that have accepted the value of women veterans in healthcare activities in order to maintain efficient work process (Goldzweig, Balekian, Rolo´n, Yano, Shekelle, 2006). Failure of VHA to Meet the Basic Healthcare Needs of Women Veterans There are certain individual or personal barriers that can be categorized as important issues for The VHA to be unable to provide facilities to women veterans. A study by Vogt, Bergeron, Salgado, Daley, Ouimette, Wolfe (2006) emphasizes on current situations present in VHA which depicts that women veterans were less expected to be ethnic minorities, had given more services to military, possessed lower rates of insurance facilities and more stress to post traumatic affairs along with symptomatology among others as compared to the previous women veterans in healthcare activities. According to the structural or institutional factors the barriers for not being able to provide basic healthcare needs to women veterans include the aspects of accessibility of services and logistics of care among others. Another potential barrier is deficiency of sensitivity or appropriate skills among the VHA staff for meeting the unique needs of the women veterans. The other barrier can be applicable for male and female veterans relating to spending more time in healthcare organizations with regard to the logistical factors that are needed while accepting the care to be needed for healthcare and providing VHA services and facets of the physical environment (Vogt, Bergeron, Salgado, Daley, Ouimette, Wolfe, 2006). VHA should emphasize more on keeping full time Women Veterans Programs Managers (WVPM) as a part of Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN) who can better address the needs of the women veterans (Department Of Veterans Affairs, 2012). Areas of Improvement Required in VHA It is recognized that Veteran Affairs (VA) do not gather and investigate the accumulated data on Administration Investigation Board (AIB) inquiries, which includes different facts related to the number of inquiries that were conducted and the matters investigated for finding any scarcity in the system process that are recognized by AIB. By investigating accumulated data, it can be possible for VHA to take remedial actions if required to mitigate the future tenures of healthcare by implementing better qualities of work processes and schedules to maintain effective functioning. Without the availability of the adequate data, it is not possible for VA to figure out the deficiencies that are lying in the organization of healthcare and in medical centers. VA does not provide information about AIB investigations that could enable to make improvements. It could also assist VHA to develop the quality of care provided to women veterans along with meeting their basic needs. Moreover, in context of reappointment of the women veterans who are to be assigned to healthcare institutions, it can be observed that there can be combined work possible for both male and female veterans which can in turn facilitate better teamwork and it could enhance the efficiency of work culture in healthcare organization (GAO, 2012). With the introduction of women veterans the work process of VHA is expected to rise, so it is required for the VA to form a strategic plan that could enhance the requirements needed regarding healthcare facilities (Department Of Veterans Affairs, 2012). Conclusion From the above observations, it can be comprehended that VHA, one of the biggest healthcare systems in the United States, is offering better amenities for the patients along with providing quality treatment at reasonable prices. The aim of the healthcare organization is to reduce the ratio of illness and provide the organization the best possible health status functions with qualified medical skills and logistics care. Despite providing significant numbers of beneficial facets by the organization, certain steps are needed to be incorporated for proper functioning of the healthcare activities, as the organization mainly looks after the needs of the male veterans. It is required to provide augmented facilities and services to women veterans to meet their basic needs. The organization can also become effective if proper investigation can be done by VHA based on the accumulated data, which can enable it meet the unique requirements of women veterans. References Clinical Interventions in Aging. (2006). Veterans’ fall risk profile: a prevalence study. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2695171/pdf/cia-0102-169.pdf Department of Veterans Affairs. (2012). Strategies for Serving Our Women Veterans. Retrieved from http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/draft_2012_women-veterans_strategicplan.pdf Goldzweig, C.L., Balekian, T.M., Rolo´n, C., Yano, E. M., Shekelle, P.G. (2006). The state of Women Veterans’ health research. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1513165/pdf/jgi021-S82.pdf GAO. (2012). VA Administrative Investigations. Retrieved from http://www.gao.gov/assets/600/590546.pdf Mayo, R. (2006). Veteran’s Health Administration: The Best Value in Healthcare. Retrieved from http://www.himss.org/foundation/docs/rachelmayo.pdf U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2012). About VHA. Retrieved from http://www.va.gov/health/aboutVHA.asp U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2012). Women Veterans. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/womenvets.asp Vogt, D. Bergeron, A. Salgado, D. Daley, J. Ouimette, P. Wolfe, J. (2006). Barriers to Veterans Health Administration Care in a Nationally Representative Sample of Women Veterans. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1513162/pdf/jgi021-S19.pdf Veterans Health Administration, (2010). Aim. Retrieved from http://www.paloalto.va.gov/docs/ImprovementGuide.pdf Read More