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Survey Instrument Provided Insight into Various Practice Behaviors

• The researchers specifically aimed to assess the capacity of New York health care providers to deliver high-quality care to veterans with service-connected health problems. While it was not feasible to conduct an in-depth assessment of specific health care encounters for veterans, a survey was used to examine various parameters of New York providers' typical practice behaviors that might yield insight into the quality of care they would provide to veterans.

Access to Timely Care

• Researchers found that almost all of the New York providers reported accepting new patients and most (61 percent) reported that new patients would be able to get a visit within two weeks, with almost half (45 percent) indicating that most patients could get a same-day appointment.

Access to Culturally Competent Care

• Only 20 percent of New York–licensed health care professionals reported routinely screening their patients for a military or veteran affiliation, with significant differences across provider types and by region. As a result, many providers are missing an opportunity to begin a conversation about how having a military history and background might have contributed to their veteran patients' current medical condition. Providers are also missing an opportunity to understand how military culture could shape veterans' preferences and attitudes about treatment.

Access to Quality Care

• To understand whether veterans would be assessed to detect service-connected conditions in non-VA settings, the survey examined how often community-based providers screen for specific health concerns that are common among veterans (e.g., sleep-related problems, pain-related concerns, physical impairments). Despite a relatively low threshold of screening for at least half of these common conditions, only 43 percent of providers routinely conducted such screenings.

Overall Provider Readiness

• The survey determined that while 92 percent of New York health care providers were accepting new patients, only 2.3 percent met all criteria for effectively serving the veteran population.