McClatchy: VA medical system isn't as big a success as officials have asserted

[babylonsister]

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/17206765.htm

VA medical system isn't as big a success as officials have asserted
By Chris Adams
McClatchy Newspapers


WASHINGTON - The Department of Veterans Affairs has habitually exaggerated the record of its medical system, inflating its achievements in ways that make it appear more successful than it is, a McClatchy Newspapers study shows.

While the VA's health system has gotten very good marks for a transformation it's undertaken over the past decade, the department also has a habit of overselling its progress in ways that assure Congress and others that the agency has enough resources to care for the nation's soldiers.

The assurances have come at a difficult time for the agency, as a surge in mental health ailments among returning veterans over the last few years has strained the system and a spate of high-profile problems with caring for veterans in the VA and the Department of Defense's Walter Reed Army Medical Center has provoked heightened public scrutiny.

A review by McClatchy of the quality measures the VA itself commonly cites found that:

-The agency has touted how quickly veterans get in for appointments, but its own inspector general found that scheduling records have been manipulated repeatedly.

-The VA boasted that its customer service ratings are 10 points higher than those of private-sector hospitals, but the survey it cited shows a far smaller gap.

-Top officials repeatedly have said that a pivotal health-quality study ranked the agency's health care "higher than any other health-care system in this country." However, the study they cited wasn't designed to do that.

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[Monkeyman]

1. Duh No Shit

:wow: I been telling you this

[babylonsister]

2. LOL! WE know it, Mm, but again, it's good to see it in print, from

a respected source. This is no major surprise to me!

[Monkeyman]

3. DU is Back Up Kick