SUPPORT OUR TROOP'S!!!11 - - Report: VA Distorts Record on Wait Times

[Bluebear]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Veterans Affairs repeatedly understated wait times for injured veterans seeking medical care and in many serious cases forced them to wait more than 30 days, counter to department policy, an internal investigation shows.

The review by the VA inspector general's office, released Monday, examined 700 outpatient appointments for primary and specialty care scheduled in October 2006 at 10 VA medical centers.

It found that the Veterans Health Administration in recent months falsely reported to Congress that nearly all of its appointments — about 95 percent — were scheduled within 30 days of a patient's requested date. In fact, only three in four veterans — 75 percent — received such timely appointments...

In one case, a veteran with eye problems visited a VA clinic in December 2005 and was told by his doctor to return in six weeks. However, it wasn't until many months later, in September 2006, that the VA scheduler set an appointment — for October of that year. The scheduler then reported the veteran had requested an October date, when in fact he had waited 259 days from the six-week target date appointment in January, the report said. "We saw no documentation to explain the delay and medical facility personnel said it 'fell through the cracks,'" investigators said.


http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jedov4eyrpcVwKphhbZ1-HyXgzpg