Evidence-Based Policy Making: Balancing Rigor With Real-World Health Care for Veterans and Military Personnel.

The US health care system is undergoing unprecedented policy transformations that will impact veterans and returning service members. Rigorous program evaluations will be crucial as policy makers make tough decisions regarding the value of new policies. Also, more partnerships between scientists and policy makers will be required to implement these designs in light of trade-offs between scientific rigor and political realities.