Has your health care provider ever asked you about military service? Most would be unaware that a patient in their exam room may be a veteran since some 60% of veterans use traditional health care resources – private insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid. Health histories have questions on illnesses, medications and surgeries, and may even include a question on occupation. An important, but generally unasked question should be: “Have you ever served in the military?”
This unasked question is discussed in an article in JAMA (the Journal of the American Medical Association). The author, Jeffrey Brown, is a physician who served in the Vietnam War. He realized that his military service put him at risk for medical complications from Agent Orange, and impacted him psychologically as well. Because of his experience, Dr Brown recommends this important question be asked by health care providers and included in medical school courses.
Wars have always brought about significant improvements in medicine that also affect the civilian population. An ancient therapy is now being added to the higher tech treatments and medications currently used. The Army will use acupuncture as a pain treatment at several military bases in the U.S. and at Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany.