The Va Computer System

[Guest jangrin]

My husband went to VA appt. yesterday and the VA doctor (?) not sure of credentials, looked at the computer and was asking questions about my husbands history.

It seems the VA computer only has partial records for the veteran. (i suppose the rest are in the cfile) How can anyhting be done properly & how can decisions be made if the VA only has partial records available. This is very discouraging when we are trusting our future health to people who do not have access to the whole file.

How does one go about getting an appt. to see the cfile at the RO. I really think it's time we went and got a copy of all the records. Something is really not quite right. Do we call the 800# or do we attempt to do this by contacting the POA?

thanks, Jangrin

[Berta]

Jangrin-is it possible that older VA records he had were handwritten and not computerized?

The VA did not re-do handwritten older medical records- as I understand it-a few years ago the doctors had to have computers skills to begin the computerized version of med recs that were in addition to the handwritten ones-

I always wonder how the docs- looking at the computerized records- access the prior older records?

Having said that-

the C File is the claims file- and may or may not contain medical records-

The copy I got of my c file about a year ago only contained those VA medical records I had sent to VA myself in support of my claim.

Since filing my AO claims -Feb 2003- the VA still has only accessed 3 medical records and used only 3 med records to deny in 2005.Although they say the entire 4-5 volumes of medical records are at the RO-

The VAMC should have all of the medical records as long as your husband is an active patient at a VAMC.

Unless the VARO has requested all of them for his claim.

Then again- how does a veteran get proper out patient care if the med recs are at the RO for their claim?

You are right to be quite concerned.

I believe you should make formal request with copy to your POA if you want to see the C file in person as well as the med recs that the RO might or might not have.

Some of you might remember years ago when I asked members what something meant in my husband's records-

He had the handwritten ones.

The term was a backward arrow- (usually meaning past) and then the initials DVD.

We had a little fun over that entry the vet had a DVD in the past yet died before DVDs were on the market-

After many searches in older medical dictionaries-I went to Medilexicon-they have medical symbols which VA doctors use.

Bingo-

DVD diabetic Vascular Disease.

This entry alone was highly significant to my claim and it was the sole

piece of my evidence that the VA "expert" opined on and said that my interpretation of this was incorrect and that it meant the veteran

denied venereal disease (DVD) or some bull crap like that.

My long point here is that those older handwritten entries- I do not think VA doctors want to even read these days because the newer stuff is computerized and easier to handle.

I am beginning to wonder based on what you stated here if the VA is only looking at the computer records and yet it is the older handwritten ones -for many veterans- that could hold the keys to their claims.(or like in my husband's case -the older handwritten records were very hard to read ---

and my daughter years ago-used her Cryptology skills from the USAF to decifer some of them-

--- they all revealed a level of malpractice so high that the final VACO report called it all "indefensible" negligence )

[jbasser]

Jangrin, contact the VA in California and call medical records department and ask them if they have any records for your husband. There is a chance the entire record did not get transferred.

The VA used a paper system in the 80s and 90s. They were supposed to scan record into the system.

The VA used a DHCP system in the 90s and now are using a system ironically called Vista, (No relation to microsoft)