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Spring 2026
(Pre-decisional)
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ACCENT is a nationwide network of VA researchers and operations partners, fostering collaboration and knowledge diffusion in the areas of Access and Community Care among VA investigators, VA Operational Partners, VISN and VA facility leadership, and VA Health Systems Research to support and inform national priorities for achieving high-quality and timely access to care. ACCENT extends the work initiated by the Community Care Research Evaluation and Knowledge (CREEK) Center and the Veterans Access Research Consortium (VARC).
View the recording of the ACCENT CORE Cyberseminar (held February 12, 2024) Introducing the Access and Community Care Engagement Network Team (ACCENT).
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Interested in receiving the quarterly ACCENT CORE newsletter? Email VHAACCENTCORE@va.gov.New research published or presented at a conference? Please let us know so we can share it with the community in our next newsletter. Email VHAACCENTCORE@va.gov
Email accent.data@va.gov if you have questions for the ACCENT data team.
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Visit the ACCENT Website!
Check out the ACCENT website, where you will find funded projects, recently published papers, minutes from monthly calls with the VA Office of Integrated Veteran Care (IVC), information about using community care data captured in the Consolidated Data Set and Program Integrity Tool, and information about current access- and community care-related programs and projects.
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Tele-Dementia Presentation at 18th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation
In December 2025 Dr. Leah Haverhals presented at a symposium at the 18th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Health in National Harbor, Maryland on the evaluation of a VA program delivering tele-dementia care from a VA Clinical Resource Hub to Guam and American Samoa: Haverhals, L.M., Brodrick, M.F., Humber, M.B., & Gould, C. “Describing the expansion of tele-dementia services to Veterans in Guam and American Samoa through applying the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research 2.0.”
Improving Hospice Care
A new Level-2 VA QUERI program started entitled “I-HOPE: Improving Hospice and Palliative Care Everywhere,” was funded in October 2025. Led by Dr. Leah Haverhals, Dr. Christine Gould, and Dr. Sam Edwards, I-HOPE will implement two Evidence-Based Practices: the first EBP will work with VA Home Based Primary Care teams to increase referrals and utilization of hospice care while providing HBPC teams education on hospice, and the second EBP will work with State Veterans Homes to increase the provision of tele-palliative care to Veterans while providing staff education on palliative care. The QUERI runs through September 2030.
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ACCENT and Office of Integrated Veteran Care Monthly Meeting
ACCENT and the VA Office of Integrated Veteran Care (IVC) meet on the 2nd Friday of the month from 12:00-12:30 PM (EST) to share current research findings with brief presentations from the field; provide new information from IVC on relevant updates related to access and/or community care (e.g., TPA information on contracts, leadership changes, etc.); and any other items that are of interest that are relevant to the ACCENT network. Please email Valerie Marteeny to be added to the Teams meeting invite.
You may also have information that you would like to share at these meetings. Please email Kristin Mattocks to secure a spot on the agenda or to share that information as a bulletin.
We encourage everyone to join these meetings to stay informed on emerging research and programmatic updates
Improving Veterans' Understanding of the Value of VA Mental Health Services
Dr. Zeno Franco was awarded funding from the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Foundation to work with the American Legion on improving Veteran recognition of the availability and value of using VA and other mental health services for Veterans with mental health challenges. The team will recruit and train mental health navigators at multiple American Legion posts in Wisconsin. Faculty from the Medical College of Wisconsin and Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center will provide the training and generate educational materials. This work builds on prior funding from the Patient Care Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) awarded to Dr. Jeffrey Whittle.
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Newly-Funded HSR CDA-2
Optimizing Multi-System Care Among Veterans with Chronic Pain
PI: Diana J. Govier, PhD, MPH, BS
Center to Improve Veteran Involvement Care (CIVIC), VA Portland Health Care System, Portland, Oregon
Dr. Govier's study seeks to understand the current state of chronic pain care utilization and costs among Veterans with chronic pain who use both VA-direct and VA-purchased care (“multi-system care”). Aim 1 focuses on variation in utilization across VA sites through a series of quasi-experimental regression discontinuity design studies, while Aim 2 focuses on variation in costs across VA sites using similar methods. Aim 3 will conduct implementation mapping to identify VA sites’ approaches for optimizing the delivery and outcomes of multi-system chronic pain care and then develop an implementation guide of successful approaches for optimizing multi-system chronic pain care grounded in the priorities and values of multi-system chronic pain care implementors using participatory techniques, including VA leaders, staff, clinicians, and end-users (Veterans, caregivers).
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Highlighting Current Research
Comparison of 30-Day Mortality After Diagnostic Coronary Angiography at VA and Community Hospitals
Authors: Denise M. Hynes PhD, RN; Diana J. Govier PhD; Alex Hickok MS; Meike Niederhausen PhD; Mazhgan Rowneki MPH, MBS; Howard S. Gordon MD & Taisei Kobayashi MD
This retrospective cohort study compared 30-day all-cause and cardiac-related mortality associated with a common diagnostic procedure, diagnostic coronary angiography (DCA), performed at VA facilities and VA community care hospitals between 2015-2019. Among the 31,640 procedures performed among the matched cohort of VA patients, 28% were performed at VA community care hospitals. Veterans undergoing diagnostic coronary angiography at VA community care hospitals had odds of 30-day mortality that were seven times greater than those who underwent the procedure at VA hospitals, despite having similar baseline mortality risk and demographic characteristics. Results highlight the importance of further research regarding strategies to improve follow-up and outcomes for VA patients undergoing DCA, particularly in VA community care settings.
Hynes DM, Govier DJ, Hickok A, Niederhausen M, Rowneki M, Gordon HS, Kobayashi T. Comparison of 30-Day Mortality After Diagnostic Coronary Angiography at VA and Community Hospitals. J Gen Intern Med. Jan 2026. doi: 10.1007/s11606-025-10110-x.
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Purchasing Versus Providing Care at the VHA: Quality Differences in Follow-Up After Psychiatric Hospitalization
Authors: Kenneth J Nieser, Cheng Chen, Alex H S Harris, Todd H Wagner, Eric M Schmidt
This study found that VHA enrollees receiving inpatient psychiatric stays in VHA’s own hospitals are more likely to receive timely outpatient follow-up visits after discharge than VHA enrollees receiving inpatient psychiatric stays paid for by the Community Care Program.
Nieser, Kenneth J. PhD; Chen, Cheng; Harris, Alex H.S. PhD; Wagner, Todd H. PhD; Schmidt, Eric M. PhD. Purchasing Versus Providing Care at the VHA: Quality Differences in Follow-Up After Psychiatric Hospitalization. Medical Care 64(2):p 89-97, Feb 2026. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000002271
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Presentations
Leah Haverhals, Dr. Christine Gould, and Dr. Isis Burgos-Chapman will be presenting at a symposium on Sunday, April 19 at the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry Annual Meeting in Arlington, Virginia. The symposium is entitled “Implementing Geriatric Mental Health Tele-Consultative Services from the Department of Veterans Affairs to State Veterans Homes: Services Delivered and Determinants of Early Implementation” Conference website: https://aagp.societyconference.com/v2/.
HSR Cyberseminars
(Editor's Note: Currently, all webinar content is available on the VA intranet only.)
Clinical Resource Hub (CRH) Program: Results of the 6-Year Evaluation
Presenters: Wheat C, Stockdale S, O’Shea AMJ
Part 1: January 21, 2026
Part 2: March 18, 2026
Special Series—VA Findings to the Frontline: VA Suicide Prevention Research Dissemination CyberSeminar Series
VA Findings to the Frontline circulates recent research findings, emerging practices, and future directions in suicide prevention research and clinical practice. This series informs future suicide prevention research and fosters collaborations between researchers and clinicians (both in and outside VA) to advance evidence-based knowledge for Veteran suicide prevention. It also aims to promote clinical practice and policy decisions to improve outcomes for Veterans at risk for suicidal self-directed violence.
March 9, 2026: Center for Advancing Community-Engaged Research and Evaluation in Suicide Prevention (ACRE-SP): Partnering and Co-Creating with the Community
Presenters: Monica Matthieu, PhD, LCSW; Karen Besterman-Dahan, PhD, RD; Marianne Goodman, MD; Angie Waliski, PhD, LPC, NCC
February 9, 2026: The Use of Motivational Interviewing to Facilitate Secure Firearm Storage: Development of an AI-based Clinician Training Tool
Presenter: Frances M. Aunon, PhD
For a comprehensive list of all ACCENT CORE and other Cyberseminars, visit the HSR website's Cyberseminars section. You will need VA intranet access to register for all upcoming sessions or view the archive of previously-held sessions.
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Arredondo K, Bay K, Witte L, et al. Rural practice made attractive: A scoping review of rural primary care physician recruitment and retention incentives. J Gen Intern Med. January 2026. doi:10.1007/s11606-026-10218-8. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41588280/
Bolton R, Dvorin K, Wu J, Abedin E, Vimalananda V. Expanding whole health access for rural veterans with pain: Virtual hub-and-spoke models. Am J Med. March 2026. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41619960/
Carlson P, Haraldsson B, Augustine MR, Kaboli PJ, O’Shea AMJ. A longitudinal evaluation of a novel short-term staffing and telehealth program: A retrospective observational study. J Prim Care Community Health. 2026;17. doi:10.1177/21501319261424758. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41762217/
Connolly SL, Jaske EL, Wheat C, et al. Veterans Affairs Clinical Resource Hubs and rates of mental health community care referrals. JAMA Netw Open. 2026;9(2):e2560084. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41758516/
Davis CH, Peeples AD, Carlson C, et al. Geriatrics needs among rural older Veterans receiving virtual mental health services. J Rural Health. 2026;42(1):e70124. doi:10.1111/jrh.70124. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41641930/
Day SC, Hoggan G, Lindsay J, Shore J. Administrative and Logistical Considerations Essential for Success of Virtual Mental Health Clinics for Rural Native Veterans. Telemedicine and e-Health. 2026;32(4):421-424. doi:10.1177/15305627251412732 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41797524/
Egelfeld JR, Gray CP, Lerner B, Urech TH, Robinson JS, Vashi AA. Challenges and facilitators to implementing a Veterans Affairs-wide pharmacy call center: A qualitative study of frontline staff perspectives. J Am Pharm Assoc (2003). 2026 Mar 25:103105. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41895604/
Govier DJ, Hooker ER, Shull S, et al. Use of VA facility and VA-purchased behavioral health services among post-9/11 veterans with and without traumatic brain injury. J Head Trauma Rehabil. March 2026. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41844560/
Hirsch B, Campbell M, Schaefer JR, Baldomero AK, Melzer AC. Improving community care lung cancer screening by implementation of centralized support: A quality improvement initiative. Ann Am Thorac Soc. Feb 2020. doi:10.1093/annalsats/aaoag014. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41721760/
Hynes DM, Govier DJ, Hickok A, Niederhausen M, Rowneki M, Gordon HS, Kobayashi T. Comparison of 30-Day Mortality After Diagnostic Coronary Angiography at VA and Community Hospitals. J Gen Intern Med. 2026 Jan 8. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41507642/
Kaboli P, Blaine A, Mares J, Fortney J, Ono S, O’Shea AMJ. Health care access from the rural perspective: A narrative review. J Rural Health. 2026;42(1):e70119. doi:10.1111/jrh.70119. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41685945/
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Kizer KW. Curbing the growing fragmentation of veterans’ health care. JAMA Health Forum. 2025;6(12):e254148. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2842410
Li, K. Y., Tran, L. D., Rose, L., Ferguson, J. M., Urech, T. H., Buggaveeti, A. E., & Vashi, A. A. (2026). Acute Care Use and Mortality by Tele-Emergency Care Use, Modality, and Clinician Type. JAMA network open, 9(4), e265406. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.5406https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41941183/
Ponukumati AS, Columbo JA, Joseph R, Berceli SA, Goodney PP, Davies L, Soybel DI, Scali ST, Stone DH. Veterans Hospitals vs Non-Veterans Centers in the Prevention of Limb Loss. JAMA Surg. Mar 2026. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2026.0489. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41879754/
Roberts AI, Resnik LJ. Racial and Ethnic Differences in Healthcare Experiences for Veterans Receiving Care from VA and Non-VA Providers. J Gen Intern Med. 2026 Mar 30. doi:10.1007/s11606-026-10375-w. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41910836/
Rosen AK, Beilstein-Wedel E, Gurewich D, Davila H, Shwartz M. Examining differences in wait times for primary care in the Veterans Health Administration by race and ethnicity: What role do within-facility and between-facility differences play? Med Care. 2026;64(3):153-160. doi:10.1097/MLR.0000000000002279. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41486581/
Vanneman, M. E., Rahim, F. G., Amuan, M. E., Nelson, R. E., Gordon, A. J., & Jones, A. L. (2026). Expanding Access to Methadone Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder: Measurement and Policy Considerations for the Veterans Health Administration. Health services research, 61(2), e70114. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.70114 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41968874/
Vimalananda VG, Zocchi MS, Wormwood JB, Sitter KE, Meterko M, Benzer JK, Charns MP, Berlowitz D, Fincke BG. Coordinating Specialty Care Across Health Systems: Primary Care Provider Survey. Am J Manag Care. 2026;32(3):e83-e91. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41886343/
Wang EY, Beyene TJ, Yong CM, Burdon T, Lin Y. Temporal trends of common cardiac surgical procedures at Veterans Affairs Medical Centers. JAMA Surg. Feb 2026. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2025.6530. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41670963/
Wu J, Kanter GP, Wagner TH, et al. Impact of the MISSION Act on quality and outcomes of major cardiovascular procedures among veterans. JAMA. 2025;334(8):702-713. doi:10.1001/jama.2025.11661. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40742582/
Zogas A, Vimalananda VG, McCullough MB, Linsky AM, Chatelain LJ, Mattocks KM. A qualitative study of the implementation of referral coordination for specialty care referrals in the Veterans Health Administration. Med Care. March 2026. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41853896/
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