Catherine Shackelford

VA Wait Times   

VA wait times are not just a statewide issue, but also a national issue. This problem is more pressing in the South, according to the Dayton Daily News (DATE OF ARTICLE?). In fact, Hopkinsville, KY had the highest percentage of delayed appointments out of any other U.S. VA in 2014. The city had around 20 percent of their scheduled appointments stretch longer than 30 days. The number of patients served yearly in the VA system has increased by 1.5 million from 2002 to 2013 (SO HOW MANY ARE BEING SERVED? YOU CAN CITE THE INCREASE BUT INCLUDE THE ABSOLUTE NUMBER FOR PROPER CONTEXT), according to the Dayton Daily News. Patient spending also increased. In 2002, spending was at $19.9 billion while in 2013 this number swelled to $44.8 billion.

Some believe these long waits are due to short staffing. Others, such as Eastern Oklahoma’s VA Health Care Director Mark Morgan, argue that long wait times are also due to no shows. This May, Muskogee had 1,249 patients not show up for their scheduled appointments. In June, there were 1,455 no shows. USA Today’s David Shulkin argues that there might be longer wait times due to inaccurate calculations. The inspector general looked at healthcare appointments in North Carolina and Virginia, concluding that 36 percent had to wait over a month for an appointment. (GREAT – WE NEED TO FIND THIS REPORT) The VA scheduling system, however, recorded only 10% waited that long. Some staffers entered inaccurate dates or neglected to follow-up on appointment requests. According to the Dayton Daily News, this is the largest investigation on “wait-time manipulation” since 2014, where 40 veterans “died waiting to be seen at the Phoenix VA while schedulers there kept secret wait lists hiding how long they were waiting.”

References:

Elswick, Mike. (July 21, 2017 Friday ). Local VA officials work on reducing patient wait times. Muskogee Phoenix (Oklahoma), Retrieved from www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic Local VA officials work on reducing patient wait times Muskogee Phoenix (Oklahoma) July 21, 2017 Friday

(March 4, 2017 Saturday ). LONG, ERRONEOUS WAIT TIMES STILL TORMENT VETERANS; VA inspector general review found widespread inaccuracies at Veterans Affairs medical facilities in North Carolina and Virginia. Dayton Daily News (Ohio), Retrieved fromwww.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic LONG, ERRONEOUS WAIT TIMES STILL TORMENT VETERANS; VA inspector general review found widespread inaccuracies at Veterans Affairs medical facilities in North Carolina and Virginia Dayton Daily News (Ohio) March 4, 2017 Saturday

(April 9, 2015 Thursday ). WAIT TIMES STILL PROBLEM FOR VA; Investigation shows no improvement despite funds.; I-TEAM INVESTIGATION DAYTON VA. Dayton Daily News (Ohio), Retrieved from www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic WAIT TIMES STILL PROBLEM FOR VA; Investigation shows no improvement despite funds.; I-TEAM INVESTIGATION DAYTON VA Dayton Daily News (Ohio) April 9, 2015 Thursday

Questions:

Why did 13% of interviewed scheduling staff members receive instruction to enter the “desired date” different from when the Veteran requested?

Why wasn’t there a “formal investigation” on these staff members? How is the data reliable if it wasn’t formal? What does an informal investigation include and not include?