WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs is working to get veterans off of wait lists and into clinics to be seen—and is making its progress public.
The VA launched its Accelerating Access to Care Initiative in June following confirmed allegations that its medical centers covered up long appointment wait times while veterans died waiting for care.
The Phoenix medical facility was the first VA facility accused of misconduct in April when a doctor revealed that management, incentivized by a financial bonus, had falsified records to hide the length of time veterans waited for appointments. Allegations of misconduct at VA facilities across the country followed as more whistleblowers stepped forward.
As part of its initiative the VA has gathered meticulous data from each health care facility, including the number of patients waiting to be seen and average appointment wait times. The data is updated every two weeks as the department works to correct its fraudulent management practices and speed up veterans’ access to health care.
“As we continue to address systemic challenges in accessing care, these regular data updates enhance transparency and provide the most immediate information to Veterans and the public on improvements to veterans’ access to quality health care,” then-acting secretary of Veterans Affairs Sloan Gibson said in a July press release.
The VA has been reaching out to more than 90,000 veterans across the country to assess their needs. This means scheduling appointments for veterans who were waiting to be seen, and making sure veterans, who had appointments scheduled far in the future, are seen sooner. Since May the number of appointments scheduled has increased by 7 percent, staying fairly consistent.
In May almost 64,000 veterans who had enrolled for VA healthcare within the last 10 years had not been seen for an appointment. As of August that number has dwindled by 97 percent to 1,769 veterans.
New patients who cannot be scheduled an appointment within 90 days of their request are placed on an Electronic Wait List. As of August, the number of veterans on the list had been cut by almost half since May.
President Barack Obama signed legislation earlier this month that will provide more money for the VA to hire thousands more medical staff and expand clinic space, all aimed to further reduce appointment wait times.
The new law also includes funds to allow veterans who cannot get appointments within 30 days to be seen by private doctors, and will make it easier for new Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald to fire incompetent managers.
But the law will take time to be implemented and produce satisfactory wait times.
Building more clinic space will require construction, and the hiring process—verifying credentials, interviewing, etc.—involved in bringing more medical providers on board will take time, said Terri Tanielian, senior social research analyst at nonpartisan think tank RAND Corp.
How quickly reform happens will vary both across the country and across the VA’s medical specialties, Tanielian said. The VA offers primary care, specialty care and mental health care. Primary care includes overall care and disease prevention, specialty care includes fields such as cardiology and gastroenterology, and mental health care includes mental health and substance use disorders, according to Gina Jackson, a VA public affairs officer.
“There may be some areas but also some specialties that are more challenged because of shortages in the supply of providers,” Tanielian said, noting the shortage of mental health care providers in Washington, D.C. alone. “No matter how many openings they have, they may not be able to fill them if there are not enough people applying.”
Allowing more veterans to be treated outside of the VA will have the biggest impact on shortening wait times, since it is the change that can happen soonest, Tanielian said. The VA has had the ability to reimburse veterans for outside care, but with more veterans being referred, they will need to “ramp up” their claims adjudication processes.
Check out how long the wait times at your VA health care facility compare to others.