The Va Secretary, Honorable Bob Mcdonald May Be Looking

[hurryupnwait]

According to one post, the VA Secretary has been invited to have a look at Hadit.com and has responded that he will have a look. So, now is the time to comment on how to fix the problems with the VA. Please no bashing the VA.

What can he do to improve the VA?

[Chuck75]

As I previously stated I believe lack of TIMELY, DIRECT, EFFECTIVE communications between the veteran, and someone intimately involved in thier claims is a root problem. Passing information second and third hand creates innacuracies and confusion, it also INSURES delays.

Very simple issues could be easily cleared up, . I would suggest they regional office create liason teams who communicate DIRECTLY with the vet or thier agent.

This would accomplish several positive actions

1. It would allow the veteran to communicate with someone who has open access to thier claims file ,. Because when we call the 1800 number now, they dont have any more access than we have on ebenefits.

2. It would promote a sense of order and organization, for the veteran to have access to someone who can answer thier concerns in a real time setting.

3. It would create ACCOUNTABILITY. because it makes the REGIONAL office responsible for the veterans .

Also, the office of inspector general should start a liason, where a representative from the Inspector Generals office is intimately involved in the day to day mechanisms of the regional office that they are working with, so they can see whats really going on, and make suggestions for improvement, or pass informations to other regional office liason on things that are working for them. A few "scheduled" spot inspections a year is a waste of time. A field inspector should be assigned to every Regional Office, who has DIRECT knowledge of what is going on there.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION, ACCOUNTABILITY AND OVERSIGHT are key.

You missed one - - - Authority to make needed changes.

[hurryupnwait]

I copied a post by Sierra63 and I m pasting it here. The post is about the secure message feature in myhealthevet.

63SIERRA

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Posted Today, 01:31 PM

ArNG11, on 18 Jan 2015 - 11:46 AM, said:

I don't think they like the accountability factor in that. I use that system against my nurses and docs when they blow off concerns, results, and procedures. Or especially when they state something that isn't correct. More than one occasion they have stated a program is not available or that a VAMC does not offer those services only to be proved wrong by me. It's also a clear record that you are trying to seek medical care, as well as continuity of care.

Sir you hit the nail on the head, they dont want the veteran to gain any leverage. Why else would they not want a written, provable, dated, verifyable, rock solid record of the communications between themselves and the veteran. ? If they have nothing to hide why not encourage veterans to use this system that cost millions of dollars of the taxpayers money? The same system should be available between the veteran and the Regional offices. We would then be able to prove what we sent them, when we sent it, who got it, what actions were taken, ect. If after communicating on the messaging system the veterans concerns were not adressed adequately then a phone call could be made.

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[justrluk]

Good morning, all! The two year anniversary for my VLJ hearing recently passed and still no response regarding the C&P and decision/or issuance of a SOC. Nothing from the VARO. I emailed Mr. Secretary and within 1 day received a phone call that my email had been received and was being forwarded to the VARO. 1 DAY + PHONE CALL! I'm really impressed so far. Let's see what impact the email will have on the VARO.

[add55p]

If the Secretary could make a difference, I would ask that he get the VA to list, specifically in Ebenefits, what evidence has been submitted.

As it stands now, Ebenefits states that evidence was received on a specific date, but does not state what was received,

There is no way to know if VA received specific pieces of critical evidence until a decision is made, and then it too late, You have to resubmit the missing evidence in the form of a notice of disagreement or reconsideration in order to get the evidence that you thought VA had, considered. Resubmission of the evidence will cause your claim to be further delayed one to two years while waiting on it to be reviewed by the respective VA adjudicator.

Add

Edited January 25, 2015 by add55p

[hurryupnwait]

If the Secretary could make a difference, I would ask that he get the VA to list, specifically in Ebenefits, what evidence has been submitted.

As it stands now, Ebenefits states that evidence was received on a specific date, but does not state what was received,

There is no way to know if VA received specific pieces of critical evidence until a decision is made, and then it too late, You have to resubmit the missing evidence in the form of a notice of disagreement or reconsideration in order to get the evidence that you thought VA had, considered. Resubmission of the evidence will cause your claim to be further delayed one to two years while waiting on it to be reviewed by the respective VA adjudicator.

Add

I like this concept.

[Chuck75]

Even the usual award or denial letter may not give enough detail to determine what is needed to change the decision to be more favorable.