How does cancer care in the VHA compare to private care?
A recently published collaborative study led by Abt Associates and Harvard Medical School’s Department of Health Care Policy reveals that the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) provides cancer care for men 65 and older that is comparable to, or better than, cancer care provided to Medicare beneficiaries through the private sector.
The findings, published in the June 7th issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, were based on data collected on men 65 and older diagnosed with colorectal, lung, and prostate cancer; lymphoma or multiple myeloma during the years, 2001 and 2004, said Samuel R. Bozeman, senior associate at Abt Associates and director of the VHA research project.
In comparison to fee-for-service Medicare patients, veterans accessing care in the VHA were diagnosed with colorectal cancers at earlier stages and had higher adjusted rates of certain recommended treatments, including surgery for colon cancer, chemotherapy for lymphoma, and bisphosphonates for myeloma, said Bozeman.
The quality of care involving other cancer treatments was relatively equal between the VHA and fee-for-service Medicare, said Bozeman, although “we found that the VHA delayed adoption of some costly new technologies. It will be important to conduct additional research to learn the reasons the VHA is not using some new technologies.”
“VHA shines in its management of chronic illnesses where it can more easily implement high quality treatment standards across its healthcare system,” says Sam Bozeman.