Local VA system under federal scrutiny, director reports
By Rhiannon Meyers, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Texas | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
The VA aims to schedule appointments within two weeks of a veteran's desired date but some veterans say they routinely wait a month to see a doctor.
"Even if you have an injury or condition that day they won't see you immediately; you have to make an appointment for another time," said
About half of the time, the soonest she can get an appointment is a month, she said.
The local system also again faces federal scrutiny regarding a former associate chief of staff's allegations the system delayed lifesaving colonoscopies to save costs, director
Among several allegations, Dr.
The
Walton in his memo said all veterans who test positive for blood in their stools are immediately referred for a colonoscopy from the system's gastroenterologist or a non-VA doctor.
"Let me assure you the allegations of delayed colonoscopies are not the practice of the VA or
The heightened attention on VA clinics comes after a former VA hospital doctor in
The desired appointment date problem is one the
Following veterans' complaints about timely appointments, the area VA system required all appointment schedulers to undergo training.
"There were too many veterans complaining about the timeliness of their appointments," system spokesman Hugo Martinez said. "It was evident based on those complaints that there were some inconsistencies out there."
Auditors noted improvements in desired data scheduling but recommended more training, prompting Walton to order all staff with scheduling abilities be retrained by
Improving scheduling should help the VA identify areas where veterans have trouble accessing care, Walton wrote in the memo. The system is working to improve known problem areas such as audiology, optometry and ophthalmology -- primarily in the
But the voucher system came under scrutiny in
A new outpatient clinic opened in late November, promising local veterans better access to specialty care and lessening their dependence on vouchers, criticized as unreliable.
The VA reported making substantial progress toward resolving the voucher backlog, Martinez said. About 2 percent of claims were not paid within 30 days, he said.
But some providers say while reimbursement rates have improved in the past year, payment still is slow.
On average, the VA reimburses Dr.
"There were some of them that never got paid," said
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