VA AND DEFENSE HEALTH CARE: Progress Made, but DOD Continues To Face Military Medical Surveillance System Challenges
Abstract
This statement concerns the record on the Department of Defense's (DOD) efforts to establish a medical surveillance system that enables DOD along with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to respond to the health care needs of our military personnel and veterans. A medical surveillance system involves the ongoing collection and analysis of uniform information on deployments, environmental health threats, disease monitoring, medical assessments, and medical encounters. It is also important that this information be disseminated in a timely manner to military commanders, medical personnel, and others. DOD is responsible for developing and executing this system and needs this information to help ensure the deployment of healthy forces and the continued fitness of those forces. VA also needs this information to fulfill its missions of providing health care to veterans, backing up DOD in contingencies, and adjudicating veterans claims for service-connected disabilities. Scientists at VA, DOD, and other organizations also use this information to conduct epidemiological studies and research.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA398523
Entities
People
- Cynthia A. Bascetta
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office