VA official says that healthcare has improved in Phoenix
The Military Times says that VA Undersecretary for Health David Shulkin claims that healthcare has improved at their Phoenix facilities in spite of what the VAOIG report says.
However, he said the report also showed how the Phoenix facilities have improved in the last two years such has more hiring, 70,000 square feet of additional space and “fast track” care for the emergency room.
“We’ve seen our consults and our wait times come down significantly. And most important, we’ve seen our patient satisfaction — what veterans are saying about their care and their access to care in Phoenix — rise significantly from 66 percent into the mid-70s,” Shulkin said.
Yeah, well, tell that to the 215 people who died waiting for appointments. This is from the report;
The OIG’s Office of Healthcare Inspections (OHI) reviewed a total of 294 facility consults for 215 individual patients who had open consult requests at the time of their deaths, or had consults discontinued after the date of their deaths. This included 87 deceased patients with 116 open consults from a report that identified patients who had open consults and a date of death associated with their medical record. The review also included 119 deceased patients with 169 open consults who had an active or pending consult on September 30, 2015, but died before that date, and/or had at least one consult that was ordered from May 1 through September 30, 2015, and was discontinued after the date of death. In addition, OHI reviewed nine deceased patients’ records with nine discontinued consults from a list of discontinued vascular consults provided by the complainant.
Of the 215 individual patients’ records reviewed, OHI determined that untimely care from PVAHCS may have contributed to the death of 1 patient. OHI found that this patient never received an appointment for a cardiology exam that could have prompted further definitive testing and interventions that could have forestalled his death. OHI determined that the remaining patients’ records reviewed did not die because they did
Emphasis is mine.
Shulkin says that the cancellations were made by low level employees who didn’t understand the process, so it’s all better now – the six-figure bosses aren’t canceling appointments. I feel better and those patients are all a little less dead.
Category: Veterans' Affairs Department
Is a “wrongful death” lawsuit a possibility?
The 6-figure guys need to take a hard hit to the pocketbook. If one is a leader, one is responsible for Every. Single. One. of the employees under ones leadership. If they did not take steps to ensure that their employees knew what to do, the ought to be held accountable.
Who in his right mind would listen to an agency Big characterize his own agency? Dafuq is one going to say, ‘I am ashamed and sickened by the lack of real progress made by my agency and I am, therefore, tendering my resignation, effective immediately.’ Fat chance.
Better?
Pretty low bar, dontcha think?
It’s not as if they could get much worse. I am just grateful for the healthcare program my company, a “proud woman owned business”, provides. In fact, the Vice President of the company constantly wants to check me for a hernia. Not sure what the hell is up with that, but until Elaine Ricci comes back, he is in charge.
Having used the Phoenix VA since 2003, it’s not better. I have gone through too many primary doc’s to note since 2003. They either move or quit the system.
The only Doc I have faith in is not a primary but she is one of the GOOD ONES.
I now only use the VA if I really really need too. When I first went in 2003 it appeared to run well and I found some great Doc’s then but most are now gone.
It rots from the top down, just look at who all is running the show from both sides……
“VA Undersecretary for Health David Shulkin claims that healthcare has improved at their Phoenix facilities…” As opposed to what? I mean is he going to get up there and say, “No things are as shitty as they’ve ever been and we’re still doing all we can to hide it as always”.
I’d at least give him points for honesty if he did say it.
I’ve had this discussion a number of times. Throwing more money at the DVA isn’t the answer. All they’d do is hire more bean counters and buy a bunch of shitty art for their facilities nobody can use.
Start public and permanent firings, get rid of the fucking bureaucracy, and maybe things woukd change.
Maybe.
“Better” is such a subjective term as to be rendered meaningless in this discussion.
As bad as it was a few less missed or cancelled appointments would be better…
When you’ve previously had a standard that made the gutter seem like Mt. Everest, better isn’t saying very much in my not so fucking humble opinion. What he should have said is based on the metrics we’re not killing as many as before but we’ve still got a long fucking way to go before we are anywhere near the level of responsibility and care that we legally REQUIRE from private or non-profit hospitals in the private sector.
People would be in jail or have their careers destroyed in the private sector of this level of incompetence.
“Better” only means the mortality rate is down. my mother-in-law to be worked at the Tucson VA hospital for over 30 years. She tells me that Phoenix was a well known death trap for nearly that entire span.
And was there even one person ultimately fired for that debacle that caused the deaths of so many people?
“Move along, nothing to see here, so what if a bunch of veterans died waiting for care. Things are getting better after all!”
“, 70,000 square feet of additional space and “fast track” care for the emergency room”
Correction;
” 70,000 square feet of additional space for the waiting room…”
And since when does an EMERGENCY room Not have a “fast track”? Must be a VA specialty.
I was out of town for work and had to make a visit to the ER on a Sunday night.
9 hours in the waiting room, another 2 in the ER bed before I got a CT scan and a prescription.
I was looking at my Rep for 2nd Ill Cong Dist yesterday. Actually, all of them, historically. This one, Democrat Robin Kelly, who actually had to ask an aide what district she represented in an interview, is the best we’ve had in 60 years. She brought in close to 4$ million in grants for aid to local higher education institutes and volunteer firefighters. Now the downside…of the money sent to the Vol FF, (2.1m$ of the 4$m) They paid….10X the going price for the breathing apparatus. So, even doing good, is a relative thing when you’re dealing with this level of bureaucracy. Need less regulations, more efficient govt. Duckworth is a poster child for bad management at the VA.
Utter Bullshit. People died on secret wait lists to preserve the bonuses of upper administration.
Yeah, they improved their SPENDING there but not much else…
Selective privatize some facilities. If it works, privatize the system. Over time, make every employee reapply for their position. Every. One. Of. Them. Can’t blast them all out the door at the same time, so do it selectively. See how quickly we see an improvement. Right now, where is the downside for being a slug?
“Right now, where is the downside for being a slug?” Zactly. Mr. Whogivesasuit supervises Ms. Alwaysonleave and Mr. Letsomeoneelsedoit and always gives them wonderful performance evaluations. If he doesn’t, it will reflect badly on him. Mr. Whogivesashit’s supervisor has had no personal issues with Mr. Whogivesashit and is himself retired in service. Everybody is a slug and everbody gets rewarded.
‘Not everyone is a lump on a log in the VA you know!’
Yes, I know. Many rookies come onto the job eager to help and work hard. After months of being treated like outcasts, they lose the drive and either get with the program and become slugs or get out.
So it’s not a chop shop anymore ??
BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT!!!
I have a contract to treat VA patients outside of the VA system. Last month they decided that none of the prescriptions I write will be filled at the VA. This means any of my patients wanting medications refilled at the Phoenix VA have to make an appointment to be seen by a VA “doctor.” Instead of decreasing the number of patients visiting the VA they made it mandatory to visit the VA even though they have a doctor already treating them. I won’t go into how often some fuck-up at the VA messes with my patients medications and I have to start all over with them. This past week it was a Pharmacist deciding he knows better how to treat diabetes than I do. FUCKING MORONS- with apologies to actual Morons.
So let’s give Mr Skulkin’ Shulkin a debilitating long term viral infection and send him through the VA system to see the real extent of the so called improvements.