Health-related quality of life, functional impairment, and healthcare utilization by veterans: veterans' quality of life study.

Objectives: To describe the health status of veterans receiving care in a veterans integrated service network (VISN).

Design: Cross-sectional survey with prospective follow-up.

Setting: Former Upper Midwest VISN 13 (now a part of VISN 23), a regional Veterans Affairs (VA) network comprising five inpatient facilities and associated outpatient clinics.

Characteristics of veterans using Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinics.

In the late 1990s, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) initiated a system of community-based outpatient clinics to enhance access to care. The purpose of this study was to explore factors that may be related to veterans' desire to transfer care from VA-based to community clinics. Among 1,452 veterans who were currently receiving VA clinic care and were eligible for care in two community-based clinics in rural Minnesota, 85 percent responded to a survey.

VA community-based outpatient clinics: performance measures based on patient perceptions of care.

Background: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently initiated a system of Community- Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) to enhance delivery of primary care to veterans.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effect of CBOCs on patients' perceptions of care.

Research Design: The study design is a cross-sectional survey.

VA community-based outpatient clinics: quality of care performance measures.

Background: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) recently initiated a system of Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) to enhance delivery of primary care to veterans.

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare quality of care provided to veterans at CBOCs and at traditional hospital-based VA Medical Center (VAMC) clinics.

Research Design: Quality of care was assessed using medical record data abstracted at CBOCs and VAMCs.

VA community-based outpatient clinics: access and utilization performance measures.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare access and utilization performance measures between Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) and primary care clinics at parent VA Medical Centers (VAMC) and between VA-staff CBOCs and contract CBOCs.

Methods: The study design was cross-sectional and retrospective. Performance measures were based on data routinely collected for administrative and research purposes by the VA.