Diagnosing Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Among Afghanistan and Iraq Veterans: Veterans Affair's Concordance With Clinical Guidelines for Spirometry Administration.

Background: Early diagnosis and treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can slow disease progression. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)/Department of Defense Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG), established to improve patient outcomes, recommend the use of spirometry in the COPD diagnostic process. The aims of this study were to assess VA health care providers' performance related to CPG-recommended spirometry administration in the evaluation of newly diagnosed COPD among veterans, determine the patient characteristics that may influence the adherence rate, and compare VA concordance rates to those of other health plans.

Health care utilization behavior of veterans who deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Background: Previous assessments of Afghanistan/Iraq Veterans have lacked a systematic overview of all injury and illness experiences captured by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) health care services. In this initial study, we quantify the health care utilization behavior of eligible Veterans and describe the level and type of usage among them.

Methods: A roster of service members who have served in Afghanistan/Iraq and became eligible for VHA care between 2002 and 2010 and their corresponding administrative VA medical encounter data were abstracted from the VHA Office of Public Health Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn Health Surveillance System.

Features: Health Care Use Among Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans With Infectious Diseases.

Qualified veterans were no more likely to take advantage of health care services after the VA presumptive infectious disease determination streamlined the qualification process.