The first initial reaction I have from reading the three articles I picked, which represent current updates on the advancement of VA health care and past stories that chronicle the impetus for the investigation into the VA, is that the federal government has put an emphasis on making sure veterans receive adequate health care. Trump just signed a bill that provides more than $2 billion to the VA health system that will help reduce wait times for veterans because it allows them to be able to go to the private sector for care if the wait time at the VA is too long (Lemire, 2017). The VA hospital in Oklahoma will receive more money to hire more physician assistants, which will help reduce wait times for a hospital averages a 20-day wait time for primary care appointments (Writer, 2017). Both of these point to the fact that the government is attempting to rectify its mistakes.
The other article (Bowling, 2015) also points to the government wanting to be more transparent in its coverage because the VA instituted policy to start recording wait times again (they had stopped?), in the wake of the scandal that broke at the Phoenix VA hospital in 2014.
Questions from the data:GREAT QUESTIONS
- What is the scope of primary and specialty care?
- If I’m understanding correctly that the VA’s definition of an appropriate wait-time goal being within 30 days of when a physician deems a date that is a suitable time a veteran should receive care, couldn’t administrators still falsify data by extending the physician’s “clinically appropriate” date to be within that 30-day window, even though it could actually be multiple months before veterans are seen?
Bibliography
Writer, M. E. (2017, August 14). VA patient wait times could see improvement. Retrieved September 14, 2017, from http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/news/va-patient-wait-times-could-see-improvement/article_62763f63-af8b-57e0-9907-e094f443f5ea.html
Lemire, J. (2017, August 12). Donald Trump Signs $2 Billion Veterans Affairs Bill. Retrieved September 14, 2017, from http://time.com/4898296/donald-trump-bill-funding-veterans-affairs/
Bowling, B. (2015, February 12). VA again to record all wait times. Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
Excellent questions. I will bring these to the VA tomorrow. I had the same one about the wiggle room in the definition of wait time.