Va Patient Bill Of Rights

[vaf]

The mother of a vet I'm helping just called. Evidently, her veteran son was sent a letter by the local VAMC "cordially inviting" him to come in to discuss his "current treatment," and by that, she reads that to mean they're going to mess with his pain medications. This does not involve psychiatric issues. The letter specifically told him to come alone, and not bring his mom, who normally accompanies him to the hospital for his treatment visits. She and her son just recently voiced some complaints to the secretary to the director of the VAMC, and now she fears this is retaliation. She is very concerned. I told her to print up the VA's Patient Bill of Rights that says the veteran and anyone he chooses will be allowed to participate in decisions regarding his treatment, and also for her to visit an attorney asap with her son, to have a limited power of attorney drawn up authorizing her to discuss and participate in any decisions regarding her son's VA medical treatment and claims.

Does anyone here think something additional should be done? The meeting is tomorrow. I've never heard of this.

[Pete53]

If you wait till last 2 days you will never get the prescription on time. I put in for mine 3 weeks early and still have problems getting mine on time.

[vaf]

Pete, that's exactly the problem. He was trying to make sure he had enough medication to tide him over during these delays. The nurse would call him on his cell phone and berate him... He's told her not to call him, but she stalks him anyway. He stated so during the meeting, so hopefully, that will not happen again.

[john999]

Vaf

I put in for my pain meds the day I receive the new package in the mail. The VA told me to do this so that I would not be late. I can tell you that some of these people in the pain and opiate programs at the VA are very suspicious of vets.

One of the nurses said in my records that I had "anger issues" because they would not prescribe celebrex for me. They argued with every thing I said and insisted I take morphine instead of celebrex for my back.

Insisting that a vet go alone to see pain management people is highly unusual and sounds to me like they wanted to grill the vet about his use of pain meds. The VA almost assumes we all abuse our drugs and sell them on the street for cash. To deal with folks who assume you are a drunk and/or a drug addict and possibly a drug dealer is bad.

When I ask for a refill of my narcotics I list the side effects and they usually call me up in a frenzy because they think I am toxic or something. Now I say everything is fine so I don't have to go for a urine test. I am so used to being treated like a criminal it hardly angers me anymore.

[tssnave]

Here is the link to the VA Patient Bill of Rights. You can either have it printed at a copy shop on a sheet of paper big enough to read (if you're like me and use bifocals) or you can scale it down to fit on a regular size sheet of paper (don't ask me how - I have to have someone else do that for me, I'm not very computer savvy):

http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPub...asp?pub_ID=1515

Hope this helps the young vet and his family. I'd suggest she keep it in her purse.

Also, I agree that getting his medical power of attorney would be a good plan.

It sounds to me like the nurse is off base by her incessant phone calls to him. I hope she backs off and starts helping him instead of harrassing him

Good luck,

TS Snave