GAO Identifies Problems With VA, DOD Collaborative Efforts

The departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs have "incompatible policies" that are impeding their efforts to collaborate effectively at sites where they both provide health care services, according to a recent audit by the Government Accountability Office. Auditors identified four areas that require improvement and recommended that DOD and VA require collaboration sites to develop performance measures for access, quality and costs.

• "Policy Conflicts Hurt Defense-VA Collaboration on Health Care: GAO" (Zigmond, Modern Healthcare, 9/29).