Heather McDonald, widow of Scott McDonald, a U.S. army veteran who died of prescription medication overdose, prepares her testimony at the House subcommittee for Veterans.
WASHINGTON – Frustrated physicians who have worked in veterans’ hospitals along with emotional vets and families accused the Veterans Affairs Department Thursday of bungling patient care, especially in the prescribing of drugs for pain management.
“Quick and cheap is regarded over good and thorough,” said Claudia Bahorik, a certified family physician who has worked with the VA’s interim staffing program.
In testimony before a House Veterans’ Affairs subcommittee, Bahorik said unqualified VA physicians have prescribed high doses of potent medication, such as opioids, without proper examination, oversight and review.
Another doctor said she had been coerced to dole out pain medication against her medical judgment.
“I witnessed an abuse of authority, which is a potential danger to public health and safety,” said Dr. Pamela Gray, who was appointed to her post as “pain specialist” at the Hamptons VA Medical Center in 2008 even though she did not regard herself as qualified for that position. Gray also said that she was ordered to delete electronic medical records – she refused — and then terminated for reporting instances of mismanagement in 2010.
When it was his turn, a VA spokesman, Dr. Robert Jesse, faced tough questions from subcommittee members after the panel of doctors, veterans and their families decried the VA system.
“I don’t believe that that is the case system wide,” he said.
“Today I think it is an excellent system, it’s not outstanding, but we’re making it better,” said Jesse, who is principal deputy under secretary for health at the VA.
Rep. Dan Benishek, R-Mich., who chaired the health subcommittee’s hearing, insisted that the government look into Dr. Gray allegations and patients’ experiences.
“These policies are indefensible…and you sitting there and saying you’ll do better, frankly that’s not enough,” he said. Jesse, in response, said he agreed and would look into some of the practices called to his attention at the hearing.
Subcommittee members apologized to witnesses such as Heather McDonald, widow of a U.S Army specialist who fought in Bosnia and Afghanistan.
“Keeping our men and woman doped up to keep them quiet and happy is not treatment,” said McDonald, whose husband died on her couch in 2012, 24 hours after the pain medication Percoset was added to a cocktail of pills already prescribed. Scott McDonald had gone to the VA for back and shoulder pain because of combat-related injuries. He was put on 15 pills within the first six months, his widow said.
While she and other military wives understood that their husbands might never make it home from the war, they didn’t prepare for them to return to the U.S. and die in their homes. McDonald said through tears.
Another witness, Justin Minyard, Ret. 1st Sgt., U.S. Army, one of the first responders at the Pentagon on 9/11, said he was dependent on opioids for several years.
“Once that train left the station, it was going 1,000 miles an hour and wasn’t making any stops,” Minyard said about his opioid addiction. “At my worst point, I was taking enough opioid pain medication to treat four terminally ill cancer patients.”