The sobering reality of one drink too manySome people follow the boozy holiday season with Dry January, an unofficial movement to abstain from alcohol for 31 days. But alcohol consumption is a year-round activity, and for some, a year-round problem that requires professional help. (U.S. Air Force photo illustration by Airman 1st Class Sahara. L. Fales) by: Military Health System Communications Office
Along with brightly wrapped gifts, festive gatherings, and hearty meals, alcohol has become a standard feature of the holidays. The “drinking season” starts Thanksgiving Eve – the deadliest night for alcohol-related auto accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – and continues practically nonstop to the champagne toasts ringing in the New Year.
Some people follow these booze-filled weeks with Dry January, an unofficial movement to abstain from consuming alcohol for 31 days. While there’s not consensus on whether no alcohol is generally better for people than some alcohol, health care experts agree there are many reasons to limit alcohol consumption year-round.
“The negative short- and long-term consequences of alcohol misuse far outweigh any small health benefits of modest consumption,” said Army Maj. Kathryn Berryman, referencing a study that found antioxidants in red wine may prevent coronary artery disease.
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, or NIAAA, about 16 million Americans have alcohol use disorder, or a drinking habit that threatens health, safety, and general well-being.
Short-term risks of overindulging include injuries and accidents, and problems with loved ones and work colleagues, said Berryman, an obstetrician-gynecologist and attending physician at Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
Long-term health risks include liver and heart disease and cancers of the mouth, throat, and esophagus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “And actually, there’s good evidence of an increased risk of dementia and early-onset dementia,” Berryman said.
The NIAAA defines one drink as 12 ounces of beer with 5 percent alcohol content, 5 ounces of wine with 12 percent alcohol content, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits with 40 percent alcohol content. The organization defines low-risk drinking for women as no more than three drinks on a single day, and no more than seven drinks per week. For men, it’s no more than four drinks on a single day, and no more than 14 drinks per week.
The numbers for women are lower because body composition and other factors typically cause women to feel the effects of alcohol more quickly than men do. Also, alcohol’s effects in women last longer. A 2013 study of Military Health System data by University of South Carolina researchers found that while women in uniform consumed less alcohol than their male counterparts, women’s alcohol dependency rates were equal or higher.
“The more you drink, the more quickly you become physically dependent and also build a tolerance,” Berryman said. “So you could have someone who has one drink daily and over time becomes dependent. Or someone could have a lot more than one drink a day, and then become dependent in a matter of weeks or months.”
Low-risk drinking doesn’t mean no risk, according to the NIAAA. People who stick to the guidelines still may have problems if they drink too quickly, have other health concerns, or are older than 60. Also, mixing alcohol with prescription and over-the-counter medications can be deadly.
Pregnant women should never drink alcohol, Berryman said. Babies exposed to alcohol in the womb may face a lifetime of mental, behavioral, and developmental problems as well as physical birth defects. Excessive drinking also increases the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, and premature delivery, according to the CDC.
The MHS and veteran health communities use the AUDIT-C (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) as a screening tool to identify alcohol use disorders. But Berryman said it’s often as simple as this: “If you need a drink to be comfortable in a social situation or to get though a challenging day or to be able to sleep at night; if there’s that feeling of, ‘I really need a drink’ to be able to accomplish whatever task, that’s a pretty good indicator that alcohol has become a problem.”
Treatment and support are available for those in the military community who need help overcoming an alcohol dependency.
“Alcohol affects brain chemistry so sometimes, quitting isn’t simply a matter of willpower,” Berryman said. “Alcoholism is a disease just like any other disease. And it requires medical attention from trained experts.”
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The Department of Defense's Office of Health Affairs and the Food and Drug Administration announced a partnership on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, to strengthen DoD and FDA's ability to equip our troops with the best possible medical support. The partnership helps us achieve the Military Health System's mission of providing battlefield care to support the military's effort to achieve a safer, more secure world. For more information on the partnership, read the FDA release.
he Department of Defense's Office of Health Affairs and the Food and Drug Administration announced a partnership on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, to strengthen DoD and FDA's ability to equip our troops with the best possible medical support. The partnership helps us achieve the Military Health System's mission of providing battlefield care to support the military's effort to achieve a safer, more secure world. For more information on the partnership, read the FDA release.
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Military Health System
he Department of Defense's Office of Health Affairs and the Food and Drug Administration announced a partnership on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, to strengthen DoD and FDA's ability to equip our troops with the best possible medical support. The partnership helps us achieve the Military Health System's mission of providing battlefield care to support the military's effort to achieve a safer, more secure world. For more information on the partnership, read the FDA release.
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Questions for MHS? Contact Us
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Military Health System
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Washington, D.C. 20301, United States
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"Audit of VHA's Use of Appropriations to Develop a System Enhancement and Mobile Health Applications" Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG) in Washington D.C. United States
Oversight Reports for Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG). This information has recently been updated, and is now available.
Audit of VHA's Use of Appropriations to Develop a System Enhancement and Mobile Health Applications
Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) Chief Business Office (CBO) misused approximately $3.1 million of Medical Support and Compliance (MS&C) appropriations when they funded the Debt Management Center’s (DMC) development of the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) system enhancement. The former Deputy Director, Finance and Logistics for the CBO Revenue Operations, stated she thought she could obligate the MS&C appropriation because it was the only funding available and the DMC recovers costs through its customers. However, public law states that MS&C appropriations are only authorized for necessary expenses in the administration of medical, hospital, nursing home, domiciliary, construction, supply, and research activities—not information technology (IT) development. As a result of our work, in June 2016, the Office of Management reimbursed the VHA the approximately $3.1 million inappropriately used from the MS&C appropriation. We also found that VHA used the MS&C, Medical Services, and IT Systems appropriations to finance five mobile health application development contracts. Public funds may be used only for the purpose for which they were appropriated. However, when an agency has two appropriations available for the same purpose, the agency must select which one to use. The agency must continue to use that appropriation for that purpose unless the agency informs Congress of its intent to change appropriations. VHA’s use of multiple appropriations for the same purpose occurred because it had not updated its financial policies to include how VHA should fund mobile health application development. As a result, VHA lacked consistency and transparency in the execution of its appropriations. We made three recommendations. VA concurred with the recommendations and has taken acceptable corrective actions. The OIG considers the recommendations closed.
Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG).
Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG)
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"Audit of VHA's Use of Appropriations to Develop a System Enhancement and Mobile Health Applications" Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG) in Washington D.C. United States
Audit of VHA's Use of Appropriations to Develop a System Enhancement and Mobile Health Applications
Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) Chief Business Office (CBO) misused approximately $3.1 million of Medical Support and Compliance (MS&C) appropriations when they funded the Debt Management Center’s (DMC) development of the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) system enhancement. The former Deputy Director, Finance and Logistics for the CBO Revenue Operations, stated she thought she could obligate the MS&C appropriation because it was the only funding available and the DMC recovers costs through its customers. However, public law states that MS&C appropriations are only authorized for necessary expenses in the administration of medical, hospital, nursing home, domiciliary, construction, supply, and research activities—not information technology (IT) development. As a result of our work, in June 2016, the Office of Management reimbursed the VHA the approximately $3.1 million inappropriately used from the MS&C appropriation. We also found that VHA used the MS&C, Medical Services, and IT Systems appropriations to finance five mobile health application development contracts. Public funds may be used only for the purpose for which they were appropriated. However, when an agency has two appropriations available for the same purpose, the agency must select which one to use. The agency must continue to use that appropriation for that purpose unless the agency informs Congress of its intent to change appropriations. VHA’s use of multiple appropriations for the same purpose occurred because it had not updated its financial policies to include how VHA should fund mobile health application development. As a result, VHA lacked consistency and transparency in the execution of its appropriations. We made three recommendations. VA concurred with the recommendations and has taken acceptable corrective actions. The OIG considers the recommendations closed.
Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG).
800-827-1000
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"Healthcare Inspection – Delays in Processing Release of Information Requests, Bay Pines VA Healthcare System, Bay Pines, Florida" Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG) in Washington, D.C., United States
Oversight Reports for Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG). This information has recently been updated, and is now available.
Healthcare Inspection – Delays in Processing Release of Information Requests, Bay Pines VA Healthcare System, Bay Pines, Florida
OIG conducted a healthcare inspection in response to allegations regarding the Release of Information (ROI) section at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center (facility) of the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System (system), Bay Pines, FL. The complainant alleged that the facility had a backlog of ROI requests, including one pertaining to a patient who died before the non-VHA provider received the records; the Business Office Services (BOS) Chief took ROI requests “off-station” and lost requests; staff working on ROI requests were not trained; and BOS staff did not comply with policies and procedures to process ROI requests. OIG did not identify patient harm attributable to delays in processing the ROI requests. However, OIG found that the facility Patient Advocate Office did not adequately capture ROI complaints. OIG substantiated a ROI request backlog of which system leaders became aware in 2014. OIG also found that ROI staff did not communicate the backlog status to requestors, and that facility managers did not monitor staff productivity accurately. OIG substantiated that the BOS Chief approved transfers of hard copy ROI requests from the facility to an off-site BOS location in an effort to reduce backlog. However, VHA policy authorizes certain managers to remove records from the facility. OIG substantiated that managers were unable to locate 547 ROI requests which were logged into the tracking system from approximately January 2014 through June 2016. Further, OIG found that ROI managers did not fully implement corrections in response to missing authorizations. OIG did not substantiate that staff were not trained to complete assigned ROI tasks. OIG substantiated that ROI staff did not comply with VHA’s prioritization policy and that longstanding workplace culture challenges in the ROI section contributed to the difficulties in resolving the backlog and sustaining effective processes. We made eight recommendations.
Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG).
Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG)
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"Healthcare Inspection – Delays in Processing Release of Information Requests, Bay Pines VA Healthcare System, Bay Pines, Florida" Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG) in Washington, D.C., United States
Healthcare Inspection – Delays in Processing Release of Information Requests, Bay Pines VA Healthcare System, Bay Pines, Florida
OIG conducted a healthcare inspection in response to allegations regarding the Release of Information (ROI) section at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center (facility) of the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System (system), Bay Pines, FL. The complainant alleged that the facility had a backlog of ROI requests, including one pertaining to a patient who died before the non-VHA provider received the records; the Business Office Services (BOS) Chief took ROI requests “off-station” and lost requests; staff working on ROI requests were not trained; and BOS staff did not comply with policies and procedures to process ROI requests. OIG did not identify patient harm attributable to delays in processing the ROI requests. However, OIG found that the facility Patient Advocate Office did not adequately capture ROI complaints. OIG substantiated a ROI request backlog of which system leaders became aware in 2014. OIG also found that ROI staff did not communicate the backlog status to requestors, and that facility managers did not monitor staff productivity accurately. OIG substantiated that the BOS Chief approved transfers of hard copy ROI requests from the facility to an off-site BOS location in an effort to reduce backlog. However, VHA policy authorizes certain managers to remove records from the facility. OIG substantiated that managers were unable to locate 547 ROI requests which were logged into the tracking system from approximately January 2014 through June 2016. Further, OIG found that ROI managers did not fully implement corrections in response to missing authorizations. OIG did not substantiate that staff were not trained to complete assigned ROI tasks. OIG substantiated that ROI staff did not comply with VHA’s prioritization policy and that longstanding workplace culture challenges in the ROI section contributed to the difficulties in resolving the backlog and sustaining effective processes. We made eight recommendations.
Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG).
800-827-1000
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