Congressional Watchdog Report Says ‘Challenges Remain’ in Physician Staffing at VA

Northville, MI (Law Firm Newswire) August 16, 2018 – The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued a new report calling on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to do a better job of recruiting and retaining doctors.

The review of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the arm of VA that provides medical care through 1,252 facilities, highlighted the department’s mismanagement as a main reason for the physician shortage. The Government Accountability Office found the following:

“VHA’s data on the number of physicians that provided care at VA medical centers (VAMC) were incomplete.

“VHA provided VAMCs with guidance on how to determine the number of physicians and support staff needed for some physician occupations, although it lacked sufficient guidance for its medical and surgical specialties.

“VHA used various strategies to recruit and retain its physician workforce, but had not comprehensively evaluated them to assess effectiveness.”

Debra A. Draper, the Government Accountability Office’s director of health care, said the VHA’s inability to adequately pinpoint personnel problems is one of the reasons why it has been challenging to solve them.

“It is beyond time for Veterans Affairs to offer the comprehensive and quality medical treatment our veterans are entitled to, and the first step is ensuring the Veterans Health Administration employs enough doctors to serve all the men and women needing care,” said Jim Fausone, a veterans attorney at Legal Help for Veterans in Michigan.

Veterans advocacy groups, Disabled American Veterans and The American Legion, have also urged the VA to fix its staffing issues.

Learn more at http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC 41700 West Six Mile Road, Suite 101 Northville, MI 48168 Toll Free Phone: 800.693.4800