Intensive Care Unit Admissions Purchased or Delivered by Veterans in the VA Health Care System
This study found that VA-purchased community ICU care expanded markedly while incurring higher costs and slightly worse outcomes. These shifts underscore growing reliance on external critical care infrastructure and raise policy concerns around VA capacity planning, care integration, and quality oversight for veterans with high-acuity needs.
Authors
- Betty Tyler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9800-6969)
- Victor B. Talisa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5246-0349)
- Zachary Hahn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5703-2957)
- Hiam Naiditch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4349-5309)
- Sachin Yende (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6596-8034)
- Florian Mayr (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2298-9011)
- Bryan J. McVerry (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1175-4874)
- John R. Hotchkiss
Institutions
- United States Department of Veterans Affairs (US)
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- Togus VA Medical Center (US)
- Office of Patient Care Services (US)
- VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- JAMA Health Forum
- Published
- 2025-12-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.5605
- Primary Topic
- Primary Care and Health Outcomes
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System