Journal Article

Long-term Health Consequences of Military Service

Chretien, Katherine C., Pavlin, Julie A., Chretien, Jean-Paul

2016

Overview

Military service can affect health years after military service, but studying these long-term health effects is challenging. US Department of Defense (DoD) records may not span sufficient time, because most service members leave active duty after only a few years in service. Long-term studies are needed on veterans who use US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care. Now is an opportune time to conduct these studies, in part because the DoD and VA are moving toward electronic health record (EHR) interoperability. However, many veterans use private sector health care in addition to, or instead of, VA health care. The growing adoption of EHRs in the federal government and private sector and the development of a federal infrastructure for health information exchange offer an opportunity to study the long-term health consequences of military service. Here, Chretien et al propose that the DoD and VA invite all members who are departing service to participate in a long-term observational study of their health that would span military service and postservice periods.

• Publisher: SAGE,SAGE Publications,SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subject: Electronic health records / Environmental health / Federal government / Health care / Health information / Health services / Information sharing / Infrastructure / Long term / Medical records / Military / Military personnel / Military service / Observational studies / Private sector / Public health / Servicemen / Spotlight on Veterans’ Health: After the War / Surveillance / Veterans