Availability of comprehensive women's health care through Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Abstract

Despite increased numbers of women veterans, little is known about health services delivery to women across the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). To assess VA availability of women's health services, we surveyed the senior clinician at each VA site serving 400 or more women veterans. We found that virtually all sites have developed arrangements, either directly or through off-site contracts, to ensure availability of comprehensive women's health care. On-site care, however, is routinely available only for basic services. Future work should evaluate cost and quality trade-offs between using non-VA sites to increase specialized service availability and using VA sites to enhance continuity of care.