Outrage as V.A. hides names of hospitals where vets died from delays

[Oldgamer]

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) blocked the release of the names of hospitals where 19 veterans died because of delays in medical screenings, leading to calls for transparency from news outlets and a bipartisan group of Capitol Hill lawmakers.
Earlier this month, the VA denied a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from Tampa Tribune reporter Howard Altman, who had been investigating the deaths.
CNN reported in January that 19 veterans died as a result of delayed gastrointestinal cancer screenings, while another 63 were seriously injured. CNN obtained internal documents from the VA listing the number of “institutional disclosures of adverse events”—the bureaucratic phrase for a mistake that gravely harms or kills a patient.
However, the documents did not list the names of the hospitals and clinics where the deaths took place. When Altman asked VA for the names of the hospitals, he was told he would have to file a FOIA request. His subsequent FOIA request was denied.
“The VA needs to drop the secrecy routine and remember it’s a tax-funded organization that should conduct itself in as transparent a manner as possible without encroaching on patient confidentiality,” the Tampa Tribune wrote in an editorial Thursday.
The House Committee on Veterans Affairs launched a website this week highlighting the VA’s habit of not responding to press requests. The committee also has 70 outstanding requests for information from the VA.
A committee aide told the Washington Free Beacon the lack of transparency raised many troubling questions.
“We have these deaths that we know they occurred, but we don’t know the medical facilities where they occurred,” the aide said. “Are the people who presided over these deaths still employed at VA? Have the problems been fixed? Without the locations, we have no idea.”
Sen. Bill Nelson (D., Fla.) also demanded more information from the VA on the deaths in a letter released Friday.
“Veterans across this country have a right to know about their local VA facility’s record of care,” Nelson wrote. “They cannot be adequately served if they do not fully understand their benefits and in some cases, are not fully informed about the care they need.”
The VA’s rejection of Altman’s public records request also raises questions about its compliance with FOIA. The VA inappropriately denied Altman’s request, according to FOIA experts the Free Beacon spoke to.
The VA withheld the information under Exemption 5 of FOIA.
Exemption 5, often called the “deliberative process” exemption, exists to allow government employees to give candid advice to each other on policy decisions. However, it has become one of the most used and abused ways to hide documents from the public.
Nate Jones, the FOIA coordinator at the National Security Archive who wrotethis week about the marked increase in agencies citing Exemption 5 to hide information, said the VA’s response did not seem consistent with the Obama administration’s vaunted transparency directives.
Jones noted that President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holderinstructed federal agencies in 2009 not to withhold information merely because “public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears.”

Story continues here..


News article Here

 

[Genx87]

I was told in govt run system rationing doesn't happen?

I'm surprised they didn't just delete them as patients like have in the past. Deleted patients are no patients at all. Thus no responsibility of the VA.

 

[JManInPhoenix]

Most VA facilities are old and decrepit. The staff in them are underfunded and overworked to boot. Our vets deserve better.

 

[Oldgamer]

Didn't the GOP just block the veterans bill that would have helped with a lot of this mess? They actually cut veteran benefits.

 

[Sunburn74]

Most VA facilities are old and decrepit. The staff in them are underfunded and overworked to boot. Our vets deserve better.

I would disagree. VAs are often are run by staff from research medical universities (the boston VA is run by Harvard and Boston University, the providence VA by brown, the NH va by darthmouth, the VA in houston by Baylor, the michigan VA by U of M, etc etc). In addition, the electronic medical record used in all VAs is second to none and is the model other hospitals copy. I would say the care there is actually quite excellent.

My first thought on the issue is this: first of all I don't understand all the secrecy but again its a federal department and there is all sorts of bureaucracy and red tape involved. You can't get a paper form out in some government buildings without filling out a requisition form. I'm not that surprised.

As for the actual report, they are talking about 19 veterans dying of colon cancer in a month because of delays. There is no discussion on why there were delays and there is no discussion on how this compares to other hospital consortiums; the VA has 1700 hospitals and even more clinics under operation. Also, 19 veterans is not really a lot when you're talking about the entire country here. Something like 50,000 people per year die of colon cancer or a little over 4100 per month in the entire country. 19 of them happened to be veterans who died because of delays. There is something like 21 million veterans in the united states and I would estimate something like 15-17 million are of the age where colon cancer screening would occur.
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/veteranscensus1.html

In addition, the VA does probably the best job of any health care system in the country of ensuring that people get colon cancer screenings. This publication cites around 80% of every veteran who walks into the VA as a patient is quickly and appropriately checked off for "is he getting appropriate screening or not". I doubt you'll find any other large hospital group that quote anything that high.

http://www.research.va.gov/news/features/colorectal_cancer.cfm

So I don't know. I don't understand the secrecy and wish it were 0 veterans dying of delays, but we also don't know what those delays were (patient's initial refusal, patient's being high risk and needing additional services to safely undergo colonoscopy, hospitalization for other medical problems whilst waiting for his screening colonoscopy which may have led to cancellation of the procedure entirely, etc). In addition, no system is perfect but the fact that there is even an inquiry suggests that someone is trying to improve on it.

 

[waggy]

Most VA facilities are old and decrepit. The staff in them are underfunded and overworked to boot. Our vets deserve better.

My father in law would go to the VA facilities. nearly every one is old and shitty. The staff is rushed and overwelmed with people. This leads to long wait times and very poor service.

i really hope that was a odd hospital and not the norm..

 

[Newell Steamer]

It's so distubing that a young man or woman chooses to enter our military, serves, gets wounded,.. and then discarded.

I am not expecting they be waited on hand and foot. But, they should get some pretty damn near perfect treatment and therapy for their injuries. This isn't about someone trying to bilk the government out of money. This is someone who's life has been changed, all in the name of the very government who seem to be discarding them.

 

[shortylickens]

But we have plenty to bail out failing corporations!

 

[Oldgamer]

But we have plenty to bail out failing corporations!

Exactly...

 

[ivwshane]

I was told in govt run system rationing doesn't happen?

I'm surprised they didn't just delete them as patients like have in the past. Deleted patients are no patients at all. Thus no responsibility of the VA.

I know right! Now if they had private health care they could have just been denied care altogether, at least that way they wouldn't of had to wait to not get treated.

I wonder why they didn't just get coverage on the open market? Surely a superior system such as that would have been easily available to them, right?

What other brilliant insight can you offer up?

 

[JManInPhoenix]

I would disagree. VAs are often are run by staff from research medical universities (the boston VA is run by Harvard and Boston University, the providence VA by brown, the NH va by darthmouth, the VA in houston by Baylor, the michigan VA by U of M, etc etc). In addition, the electronic medical record used in all VAs is second to none and is the model other hospitals copy. I would say the care there is actually quite excellent.

My first thought on the issue is this: first of all I don't understand all the secrecy but again its a federal department and there is all sorts of bureaucracy and red tape involved. You can't get a paper form out in some government buildings without filling out a requisition form. I'm not that surprised.

As for the actual report, they are talking about 19 veterans dying of colon cancer in a month because of delays. There is no discussion on why there were delays and there is no discussion on how this compares to other hospital consortiums; the VA has 1700 hospitals and even more clinics under operation. Also, 19 veterans is not really a lot when you're talking about the entire country here. Something like 50,000 people per year die of colon cancer or a little over 4100 per month in the entire country. 19 of them happened to be veterans who died because of delays. There is something like 21 million veterans in the united states and I would estimate something like 15-17 million are of the age where colon cancer screening would occur.
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/veteranscensus1.html

In addition, the VA does probably the best job of any health care system in the country of ensuring that people get colon cancer screenings. This publication cites around 80% of every veteran who walks into the VA as a patient is quickly and appropriately checked off for "is he getting appropriate screening or not". I doubt you'll find any other large hospital group that quote anything that high.

http://www.research.va.gov/news/features/colorectal_cancer.cfm

So I don't know. I don't understand the secrecy and wish it were 0 veterans dying of delays, but we also don't know what those delays were (patient's initial refusal, patient's being high risk and needing additional services to safely undergo colonoscopy, hospitalization for other medical problems whilst waiting for his screening colonoscopy which may have led to cancellation of the procedure entirely, etc). In addition, no system is perfect but the fact that there is even an inquiry suggests that someone is trying to improve on it.

have you ever been to a VA hospital?

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

But we have plenty to bail out failing corporations!

Fortunately, they've paid it all back with interest and we avoided a catastrophic depression to boot. I don't like it either, but we did the right thing.

 

[JManInPhoenix]

My father in law would go to the VA facilities. nearly every one is old and shitty. The staff is rushed and overwelmed with people. This leads to long wait times and very poor service.

i really hope that was a odd hospital and not the norm..

Sadly, I have been to several and that was the norm from what I witnessed.

 

[senseamp]

GOP solution, get rid of VA, so these people die at home.

 

[Genx87]

I know right! Now if they had private health care they could have just been denied care altogether, at least that way they wouldn't of had to wait to not get treated.

I wonder why they didn't just get coverage on the open market? Surely a superior system such as that would have been easily available to them, right?

What other brilliant insight can you offer up?

They were denied care.

 

[Sunburn74]

have you ever been to a VA hospital?

Yes. Futhermore I know exactly what steps need to happen to get a veteran a colonoscopy and trust me its not a lot of steps. The limiting factor generally is not the wait (most colonoscopies at the VA are done without need to see a GI specialist prior to your colonoscopy. Its a very streamlined process which on average at least in the Massachusetts area takes about 3 months or so. 3 months may seem like a long time to wait, but you have to understand that most patients have very normal colonoscopies and that colon cancer takes about 10 years to develop anyway). The limiting factor in my experience is the veteran's decision of whether or not to actually go through with the process.

 

[Incorruptible]

I was told in govt run system rationing doesn't happen?

I'm surprised they didn't just delete them as patients like have in the past. Deleted patients are no patients at all. Thus no responsibility of the VA.

I remember the leftist idiots saying the same thing. I am not surprised at all that this happened but they will continue to make excuses.

 

[TerryMathews]

GOP solution, get rid of VA, and give them a high deductible health savings plan.

FTFY. At least try to be honest k?

 

[davmat787]

But we have plenty to bail out failing corporations!

You obviously have no idea how many people your typical 100' yacht employs. No bailouts, those people would be unemployed.

What passes me off is what could have been done if more of the stimulus funds and the bailout money was marked for infrastructure development and improvement. I think only 8% was marked for infrastructure, yet we were sold all this "shovel ready" job B.S.

Sadly, I don't think have had an administration capable of something that big for quite some time.