The Va Is Killing Veterans Due To Negligence In Office Procedures

[Slim]

Howdy Guys

My name is Rich. I am disabled at 60% SC. My primary care facility is in Las Vegas, Nevada. It has recently came to my attention that because the VA is not handling medical Fax’s right, they are increasing the pain and suffering of Veterans and possibly causing the needless deaths of other Veterans. Please take the time to read this post. Then please take the time to help get the word out on this problem so we can force the VA to correct it.

I recently started having problems with my right eye. I talked with my primary care doctor about it. I did not feel I had gotten the point across to him as to how much this concerned me. I then went to a private doctor and had an eye exam done. I Faxed this information to my VA primary care doctor. When I tried to find out if he had received the Fax I could not.

I had to make an appointment with my doctor just to ask him if he had received the Fax. He had not received it and had no idea that the private doctor I had went to felt there was a real problem with my right eye that needed immediate attention. In other words the VA had lost the Fax before it got to my doctor.

I wrote two letters to the Director of services in Las Vegas. You can read both letter here http://www.veteranhealthcare.com/letters/ These letters will explain everything in much greater detail, please take the time to read them. I have not received any reply from the VA concerning these letters. As of 10 days ago nothing had been done to correct the situation to guarantee that medical Fax’s would get to our doctors. I also found out this was not an isolated problem, but very common and well know by many who work at the clinic I go to.

This is very important to all of us. What if you go to a private doctor for a hart condition for example? The doctor does the exam and tells you he will send the information to your primary care doctor at the VA. He sends a Fax to your VA doctor saying that you should immediately be started on blood thinners to lessen the likelihood of your having a major Stroke. That Fax never reaches your VA doctor. You are not scheduled to see your VA doctor for another two months. You know your VA doctor will call you in for an appointment if the hart exam had found anything bad, but the Fax never reached your doctor. A month later you have a major stroke and are handicapped the rest of your life or you die from a major hart attack. That is just how important it is that every one of us knows that a Fax or a piece of mail will reach our doctors each and every time it is sent.

Please read the two letters I listed above. Then PLEASE help get the word out about this problem at the VA. If you belong to a service organization, American legion, DAV or any others take a copy of these letters and give them to your Post Commander and ask them to get the word out to the members. If you know any newspaper reporters or radio people get a copy of these letters into their hands. Send a letter to your Senator or any other politician you can think of. Lets get as many people talking about this very serious problem as we can. Then the VA will have to take action because so many people will be asking what they are doing about it.

You can also help me to find out just how wide spread this problem is. Wait till a couple of days before your next scheduled appointment with your VA primary care Doctor. Then two days before your appointment send him a Fax. Say something like you keep forgetting to ask him some questions during your appointments so you figured you would Fax him the questions and would talk with him at your appointment. Then ask him a couple of questions about your medical condition. The day before your appointment call over to your clinic and ask if they can tell you if your doctor had in fact received this Fax. Just make note of their answer. Then the day of your appointment with your VA doctor ask him if he did receive the Fax you had sent. If so Great things are working like they should at your VA. If he tells you NO he did not receive the Fax, ask him if this sort of thing happens very often where he does not receive Fax’s sent to him. Then do me a big favor and email me telling me what facility it was you sent the Fax to that did not get to your doctor. I will collect this information and continue the fight concerning this problem. This problem could potentially kill a lot of our friends or us; we must take the time to see it is fixed.

You can email me thru the board here or at slim@rapidcable.com

Thank you for your help with this. If we stand together we can fix the VA or at least make a difference to ensure we get the quality medical care we deserve.

Thanks

Rich

[Berta]

You certainly have a legitimate complaint.

I suggest that you get in touch with the Medical Director at your VAMC by phone or by email or reg mail and explain this to them. That is only after you have given the Patient's rep a chance to straighten it out.

Sometimes they can do wonders.

It would help if you can enclose -if by mail- a copy of that fax to the director-if the pt rep doesn't help. Add to this letter what steps the PT rep did or did not take and state their name.

The most important problem here is that you do have something wrong with your vision and it is a little alarming that this is not being taken seriously by the VA.

Are you a diabetic? Is this only in one eye?

I also strongly suggest that you go to the VA web site -http://www.va.gov/oca/c2c_USA.htm

under Communications to Congress and you can email your Congressman/woman and state this complaint-as briefly as you can and leave your home phone number, email addy etc.

Also you can follow it up with a detailed letter but in a brief complaint tell your congressional rep that you are not getting the proper care you require from the VAMC and state it all as you did here-regarding the fax from your other doctor.

But I highly recommend the Patients reps first, then the director, and then Congress.....

been there -done this- honor their pecking order first and then get tough.

Berta

[Slim]

Howdy Berta

If by Patient's rep you mean the Patient Advocate as we call them in Vegas. That was a complete waste of time. In the letters it clearly shows where she was just part of the problem. I have emailed every Senator in both Arizona where I live and Nevada where I recieve my care. To date no response from any of them. I also emailed quite a few members of both houses of representatives in both states, again no response.

This is a touchy issue for them. If it is as wide spread as I believe based on what I have been told by VA employees there is a hell of a problem here.

I have called and emailed Visin 22 all the way to Mr. Clark the head man. No one has responded to me as of this date. That is why I am asking everyone to help. I think they are trying to sweep this problem under the rub. They figure we cannot get a handle on just how wide spread the problem is and they do not want to try, is my guess.

If everyone starts checking thier facility by sending a Fax and seeing if the Doctor actually recieves it we will have a better idea if this is as wide a problem as I have been led to believe. The thing is if only one Fax gets lost and it causes major medical problems for the Vet involved that is way to much of a problem if you ask me.

Anyway thanks for the suggestions. I have actually done most of them. I am just frustrated because they just keep blowing this problem off.

Thanks again

Rich

You certainly have a legitimate complaint.

I suggest that you get in touch with the Medical Director at your VAMC by phone or by email or reg mail and explain this to them. That is only after you have given the Patient's rep a chance to straighten it out.

Sometimes they can do wonders.

It would help if you can enclose -if by mail- a copy of that fax to the director-if the pt rep doesn't help. Add to this letter what steps the PT rep did or did not take and state their name.

The most important problem here is that you do have something wrong with your vision and it is a little alarming that this is not being taken seriously by the VA.

Are you a diabetic? Is this only in one eye?

I also strongly suggest that you go to the VA web site -http://www.va.gov/oca/c2c_USA.htm

under Communications to Congress and you can email your Congressman/woman and state this complaint-as briefly as you can and leave your home phone number, email addy etc.

Also you can follow it up with a detailed letter but in a brief complaint tell your congressional rep that you are not getting the proper care you require from the VAMC and state it all as you did here-regarding the fax from your other doctor.

But I highly recommend the Patients reps first, then the director, and then Congress.....

been there -done this- honor their pecking order first and then get tough.

Berta