Washington, D.C. (WBEN) - Following a call for accountability from multiple Western New York lawmakers in Washington after egregious failures at the Buffalo VA Medical Center left veterans waiting weeks or months to receive care, a nationwide evaluation of a number of the VA's practices will take place to root out systemic issues within the VA’s health care network.
At the request of U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, as well as Congressmen Tim Kennedy (D, NY-26) and Nick Langworthy (R, NY-23), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) will conduct a comprehensive review of the VA’s community care consult practices.
The investigation will include a review of the VA’s practices around scheduling patient treatment, particularly for high-risk and complex conditions. It will also review practices around handling concerns raised by patients and health care providers in the case of delayed treatment.
"No veteran, in Western New York or anywhere in America, should experience failures like those that occurred at the Buffalo VA. We must make sure this unacceptable failure to provide the care our veterans need never happens again. This new independent investigation by the Government Accountability Office will conduct a top-to-bottom review of the VA’s nationwide practices," said Sen. Schumer.
According to a report from the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General released last month, critically ill patients at the Buffalo VA Medical Center had their treatments postponed for months, or even canceled entirely, despite concerns raised by patients and health care providers.
In one case, a patient waited nine weeks for radiation therapy for a new cancer malignancy, despite efforts by the chief of oncology to get the community care team to schedule treatment. In another, a veteran died waiting for palliative radiation therapy that would have eased severe pain from Stage 4 cancer.
Following the revelations of the report, lawmakers requested an independent investigation by the GAO into the VA community care practices that led to these failures to ensure better care for veterans both in Western New York and across the country.
"What happened at the Buffalo VA was unacceptable. Nothing should ever get in the way of veterans receiving desperately needed care," said Sen. Gillibrand. "I am glad that the Government Accountability Office is investigating the VA at my urging and I look forward to seeing the results of their investigation. I will continue to monitor this situation closely and fight to ensure that no veteran slips through the cracks."
Specifically, the GAO review will include:
- Oversight of medical centers’ adherence to Veterans Health Administration (VHA) requirements for processing consults for conditions considered high-risk or complex;
- Whether consults are appropriately prioritized and consistently processed within VHA’s timeliness requirements;
- Reviewing how medical facilities, VISN leaders, and the VHA Office of Integrated Veteran Care respond to concerns regarding delays in consult scheduling from providers, staff, patients, and their families and how this is built into VHA’s quality and risk management programs;
- Best practices to prevent and address leadership deficiencies within the community care scheduling process, including the prioritization of patient safety.
"I am pleased that the Government Accountability Office is moving forward with reviewing VA community care practices to ensure our heroes receive the quality and timely medical services they deserve," said Congressman Kennedy. "I will continue to do everything in my power to uphold our duty of care and get the Buffalo VA back on track."
"We must keep our nation’s promise to our veterans that when they get home, they get the care they earned and deserve — the failures that caused critical delays in care at the Buffalo VA are absolutely unacceptable," added Congressman Langworthy. "This new investigation led by the Government Accountability Office will help us identify the problems that allowed this to happen and ensure it never happens again. I’ll be actively involved to make sure we hold the VA accountable and deliver real results for our veterans."
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