C&p Exams

[sharon]

Good reading on the mistakes on C&P exams.

VAOIG_08_01392_144.pdf

VAOIG_08_01392_144.pdf

[carlie]

Please - start a new thread as I see no reason to

continue butcherings Sharons.

Thanks.

carlie

[john999]

You know when you get a cardiac or mental health C&P done by a PA you are getting a person whose only qualification is that they can read the disability sheet given them by the VA. They ask questions right from the list and if they are in a hurry they just skip tests or other objective or subjective findings. This is a disgrace and goes right to the cheapness of the VA. I have had horrible C&P exams in the past. If not for IMO's I would still be at 30% with no hope. I have had 10 minute mental health C&P exams frequently in the past. All they want to know is "Are you working or do you hear things or see things other people don't see or hear?"

[allan]

Thank you Sharon. Good post.

What, if any changes will this report bring? And when will the changes be put into practice?

The problem I see is nothing changes with the C&P process. Same errors are repeated throughout the country.

Making sure where to send the appointment & following up with the vet for a correct address, getting examinations set up for the right conditions & "ALL" the issues need to be accurate the first time around. Nearly a 20% error rate? Why is that tollerated?

Report No. 08-01392-144

This is taken from the above report.

Incomplete C&P exam requests often result in additional and unnecessary work for VA personnel and can be indicative of poor customer service to veterans. To improve service provided to veterans filing disability claims, it is important for VA to take steps to reduce the number of incomplete exam requests.

VHA had inconsistent practices related to the extent VA healthcare facilities (VA HCFs) contacted veterans by telephone to schedule their C&P exam appointments. The number of incomplete C&P exam requests could be reduced if VHA improved C&P exam scheduling procedures. For example, VHA guidance states that VA HCF personnel are to contact veterans to schedule their C&P exam appointments and mail an appointment notification letter to the veteran. However, personnel at various VA HCFs did not call veterans to schedule their appointments and only notified veterans of their C&P exam appointments by letter. This practice is not in compliance with VHA scheduling guidance and does not include veterans in the process of scheduling their C&P exam appointments. Personnel from 6 (29 percent) of the 21 VA HCFs included in our sample stated they did not always make telephone calls to schedule C&P exam appointments, and personnel from 4 (19 percent) of the VA HCFs stated they only sent notification letters and did not make telephone calls. Personnel from 11 (52 percent) of the VA HCFs stated they scheduled C&P exam appointments by telephone contact with the veteran. We could not verify these statements because the method used to schedule appointments was not documented. Without direct communications with veterans, VHA cannot ensure they are working effectively with veterans who need C&P exams before complete decisions can be made on their disability claims.

VHA’s practices related to rescheduling veterans’ C&P exam appointments also differed across VA HCFs. VHA guidance states that C&P exams can be rescheduled on a one-time basis when a veteran requests that the exams be postponed for a valid reason. However, several C&P exams were inappropriately canceled because VA HCF personnel

VA Office of Inspector General i Audit of VA Incomplete Compensation and Pension Medical Examinations

did not reschedule the exam appointments based on the veteran’s reasonable request for a different appointment time. Instead, the exam requests were canceled and returned incomplete to the requesting VA Regional Office (VARO).

VARO personnel request more than one C&P exam, if necessary, when a veteran’s application contains multiple claimed conditions. VHA’s practices related to handling C&P exam requests with multiple exam appointments were not consistent across VA HCFs. VHA guidance does not address how to handle a situation when a veteran fails to report for an initial C&P exam and has subsequent appointments scheduled under the same request. Personnel at various VA HCFs canceled subsequent exam appointments and the C&P exam request after veterans did not attend their initial appointments without first contacting the veteran.

The number of incomplete exam requests could also be further reduced if VARO personnel submitted complete and accurate C&P exam requests to VA HCFs. We identified cases where VARO personnel sent C&P exam requests to the incorrect VA HCF. In these instances, VARO personnel sent C&P exam requests to incorrect VA HCFs based on the veterans’ residence, sent the requests to VA HCFs based on incorrect veterans’ addresses, or sent the requests to VA HCFs where the veterans were employed, which is contrary to VA guidance. We also identified C&P exam requests where VARO personnel did not include sufficient information for the exams to be scheduled and conducted, or the exams requested did not correctly address the veterans’ claimed conditions. About 11 percent of the incomplete C&P exam requests we reviewed were canceled because the requests were incomplete or inaccurate.