Association of Secure Messaging with Primary Care In-Person and Telephone Visits Among Veterans: a Matched Difference-in-Difference Analysis.

Background: Secure messaging (SM) between patients and primary care teams has expanded care access but may impact other clinical encounters.

Objective: To study associations between SM use and primary care in-person and telephone visits in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

Design: The SM feature of VHA's patient portal, MyHealtheVet, supports asynchronous communication between patients and primary care teams.

Incidence of Neutropenia in Veterans Receiving Lung Cancer Chemotherapy: A Comparison of Administrative Coding and Electronic Laboratory Data.

Introduction: The frequency of neutropenia associated with lung cancer chemotherapy outside of randomized trials is largely unknown because administrative coding underestimates its prevalence. This study compared International Classification of Diseases (ICD) diagnosis codes and electronic laboratory results, alone and in combination, for identifying neutropenia events.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study of 718 veterans receiving their first course of chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer.

Appropriateness of Prostate Cancer Imaging among Veterans in a Delivery System without Incentives for Overutilization.

Objective: To determine the frequency of appropriate and inappropriate prostate cancer imaging in an integrated health care system.

Data Sources/study Setting: Veterans Health Administration Central Cancer Registry linked to VA electronic medical records and Medicare claims (2004-2008).

Study Design: We performed a retrospective cohort study of VA patients diagnosed with prostate cancer (N = 45,084).

A preliminary exploration of the feasibility of offering men information about potential prostate cancer treatment options before they know their biopsy results.

Background: A small pre-test study was conducted to ascertain potential harm and anxiety associated with distributing information about possible cancer treatment options at the time of biopsy, prior to knowledge about a definitive cancer diagnosis. Priming men about the availability of multiple options before they have a confirmed diagnosis may be an opportunity to engage patients in more informed decision-making.

Methods: Men with an elevated PSA test or suspicious Digital Rectal Examination (DRE) who were referred to a urology clinic for a biopsy were randomized to receive either the clinic's usual care (UC) biopsy instruction sheet (n = 11) or a pre-biopsy educational (ED) packet containing the biopsy instruction sheet along with a booklet about the biopsy procedure and a prostate cancer treatment decision aid originally written for newly diagnosed men that described in detail possible treatment options (n = 18).

Comparison of demographic characteristics, surgical resection patterns, and survival outcomes for veterans and nonveterans with non-small cell lung cancer in the Pacific Northwest.

Introduction: Lung cancer is a leading cause of death in the United States and among veterans. This study compares patterns of diagnosis, treatment, and survival for veterans diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using a recently established cancer registry for the Veterans Affairs Pacific Northwest Network with the Puget Sound Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results cancer registry.

Methods: A cohort of 1715 veterans with NSCLC were diagnosed between 2000 and 2006, and 7864 men were diagnosed in Washington State during the same period.