VA Hospitals Lax in Following Quality Control Procedures

i 3 Table Of Contents

A recent report published by the Government Accountability Office concluded that all four of the VA hospitals examined failed to implement peer review rules. There are three levels of review after an adverse event at VA hospitals. The first is a peer review. Experienced medical providers examine the history of treatment that a patient received. After the review, the board of providers makes a determination about whether the treatment was appropriate. This is the most informal, and it is “protected,” because the proceedings are confidential. The next level of review is for the purpose of determining whether adverse action is appropriate. These two higher level reviews are not confidential and are not “protected.”

Under VA policies, the informal review must be concluded within 45 days. The deadline to complete the two higher level reviews is 120 days. Each hospital must have written policies in place which would “trigger” the review system. In Nashville, Seattle, Dallas, and Augusta, Maine, the GAO found that none met all of the four requirements – timelines were not observed, written policies were not implemented, and doctor competence issues were not sent to unprotected boards. Some hospitals met some rule requirements, other hospitals met other rule requirements, but the performance was inconsistent.

More News for Veterans

More Articles

The Importance of Documentation: Gathering Evidence for a PTSD VA Disability Claim

The Importance of Documentation: Gathering Evidence for a PTSD VA Disability Claim Post-traumatic stress disorder is one of the most common reasons veterans receive VA disability benefits. In 2022, 1,343,669 veterans were receiving benefits for service-connected PTSD....

How to Win Your PTSD Claim

How to Win Your PTSD Claim - Donnel Beckles, Managing VA Advocate, Veterans Help Group Donnel Beckles is a top Veterans Advocate, and a member of the National Organization for Veterans Advocates. Donnel is accredited to practice...

PTSD and Veterans: Understanding the 100% Disability Rating Requirements

PTSD and Veterans: Understanding the 100% Disability Rating Requirements Post-traumatic stress disorder is common among veterans, and many veterans receive veterans disability benefits for the condition. However, most are rated less than 100% disabled. The standard...

What Causes PTSD to be Triggered in Veterans?

In the past 15 years, the estimated number of veterans who have been diagnosed with PTSD currently numbers more than 500,000. As many as 60,000 of these veterans are Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. Estimates show more than 20% to 30% of veterans...

FREE CASE EVALUATION 

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Hidden
Hidden
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.