Quality care at VA hospitals?

Railroad Momma · 08-19-2009, 03:41

I made the mistake of telling the woman behind the counter at the DMV office that I had previously had seizures and a heart attack when she asked me whether I had ever had these medical conditions before. She felt that because of my Diabetes she would have to make me go through a medical evaluation even though I was able to get my license issued to me that day. I explained that I have never had any problems when driving due to Diabetes or because of my previous heart attack some five years earlier. However, she insisted that I be evaluated to be safe. I had to get my doctor to sign off on the paperwork and have him mail it to DMV within 30 days otherwise my license would be revoked. I had to get my primary care doctor, my eye doctor, and my mental health doctor to all fill out the necessary paperwork giving me the green light to drive. I had 30 days to get this done and mailed back to DMV. Unfortunately, I had to wait until I made a new appointment with my primary care doctor in order for him to fill out my paperwork. It seems that no one can just give their doctor paperwork to fill out without an appointment and so I had to wait until my next scheduled appointment for him to do this. When my appointment came, I saw my doctor and was told to fill out as much of the paperwork as I could and then bring it back for him to finish and sign off on. I did this and returned, but was told that I had to make another appointment to give him the paperwork. And so I did this. In the mean time, I was able to fill out the mental health portion of the paperwork because it did not require a doctor’s signature. I was also able to get my eye doctor to fill out his portion and he returned it to me the same day. I have already called DMV for two extensions and now will have to call for a third. What should have taken no more than a couple of weeks has now lasted over 2 months now. By the time I see my doctor again, it will be closer to 3 months since getting my license and I am still waiting to get my DMV paperwork filled out and sent back to their office. How ridiculous is this! I realize that when it comes to the VA, everything is hurry up and wait, but come on! I just hope that this last visit to my doctor will suffice. If I end up having to make another appointment to see him for this, I will just go off. I probably should have talked with someone by now, such as a patient advocate after the first visit with my doctor, but I didn’t foresee these problems. I figure that I am either a very patient person or a dumbass for not bringing this to someone’s attention before now. In any event, I hope to have this resolved on September 4, when I see my doctor for the third time. Keep your fingers crossed that I don’t end up going nuts or smacking some doctor for not doing his job. I bet if I had a civilian doctor this would not be a problem, but what are you going to do. And they say that veterans are getting quality care at VA hospitals- what a joke.
Laura

LadyVet · 08-19-2009, 19:18

Dear Laura,

What a nightmare! I hope it all gets resolved. It never ceases to amaze me how much honesty is punished in this country! You did the right thing. But, I am sure by now you probably wish you had lied. I hope it all works out for the best for you.

Lee

mom6 · 08-20-2009, 19:19

Dear Laura
That is a nightmare and it is also so believable. I am sorry that you have to go through it but if you stand back it is also kind of funny in a way. Just like being back in the military you chase your tail until someone signs the papers so that you can do what you should have been doing all along. Hand in there things will get better, they always do.

Grullogal · 08-24-2009, 19:45

The system is messed up.....and they want to do a National Health Care plan modeled after the VA system. People do not realize the in's and out's of the system. Sorry Laura that you had to go through all this......I would go to the pt. advocate and it would have got done sooner....if we don't complain, they don,t care.......I could tell ya all about the system as I worked for 17 years at a VA and did not get into the politic's of it all till I worked in out patient. Providers are pushed by management, everything is micromanaged and they ration care. The more management saves, the more they get in bonuses......yes, they get bonuses, not the people doing the work, they just want numbers and they will lie to get funding. I at least have the advantage of seeing all this transpire over the years. I thought that on the wards, things were very well run except for the female veterans. It has improved over the years but the system has significant flaws. Now as a pt I too am frustrated with the system and thank God we know some people and we are both in the medical field and can see what is happening. Hopefully more veteran"s will become the majority of the VA running of it and then maybe things will change...I would think that other veteran's would want to help other veteran's. That is why we both stayed in the system, we couldn't change it but we can let people know and we both got in trouble for going that "extra mile". My husband as a provider was not allowed to prescribe the drugs he thought best but what a pharmacist would determine a cheaper med and generic's which don't think they haven't piles of cheap drugs to use. Then they dump all these drugs on you even before they know it will work, a good 90 day supply.....which then gets shoved to the back of the cupboard and eventual know they collect them to destroy. What a waste. I could go on and on but must go to bed. Take care all......Grullogal.

mom6 · 08-25-2009, 16:37

That is a scary thought. I did not know that the doctors get pushed not to take care of us. That is so much crap it is no wander it takes for ever to get any thing done when you go to the VA. I know that the medication they prescribe to my husband for his mental health issues is not what it should be, but I do not know anything they are the doctors ( sorry about the rave but I have had a few discusions with his doctors and that is what I an told) I have a MS in Rehab Counseling I have studied this kind of thing too. Bit any why that explains alot.

Grullogal · 08-26-2009, 06:00

That is why we also carry our own health insurance....just in case we need it. The bigger VA's that are teaching hospitals are usually better. Small town VA's not so much. My personal experience was with Dental, the dentist sent a consult to an outside provider for services they could not do there. They have contracts locally. I went to the dentist for my exam, he sent the consult back to the VA, they sent me a letter saying I had to pay for it myself.......anyway, I was sent to a larger VA that was 150 miles away for my oral surgery. Luckily I got the Chief of Staff of Dentistry for my dental surgery. He was not happy that I was there, because he said the VA that sent me has funds for me to go locally. I told him I was just the pt but that I agreed and he knew some of the people from the VA I worked at that he knew. Anyhow, he did the surgery, he was not happy and I know that he contacted the other VA about it. Especially since I have CFS/Fibromyalgia, it is difficult to drive long distances. My husband had to take me. The dentist told me he was not happy and that he was going to have a discussion with the other VA about it. He wasn't angry at me but that they made me drive so far to get something done that they could have paid for locally, they just did not want to spend the money is all out of their monies to have these things done. I have not experienced that "problem" again. I am sure other's have but what does one do?? Complain is all we can do. Right now, I plan to take my husband in with me when I get my cholesterol done. I am not happy, neither is my husband, that the doc (pretty much told me she was the doctor when I asked about raising my cholesterol med as my bad cholesterol is still too high even though I have lost wieght, exercise and don't eat much junk food.) She said she was "comfortable" with my cholesterol LDL still being "high" esp. with a family history of high cholesterol. My husband is not, it hasn't come down in a year, he knows where it should be and it is still too high. The doctor told me she did not want to raise it because it may get worse and if I take more it won't help??? I am only and have only been on 5 mg of Crestor, raising it to 10mg would help significantly to lower the bad cholesterol. It is still the same after a year of losing weight, etc. so it is hereditary. I know, my husband knows too that I should have it increased some as I have been on cholesterol meds for at least a good 14 years, it had been okay up until a year ago when my LDL went up again and all the diet and excersize hasn't changed that!! In fact, I had my husband come with me to an appointment to explain to her about my CFS/Fibro and the cause......nerve agent exposure during the Gulf war. She didn't have a clue about any of that stuff. My husband was a chemical officer prior to becoming a PA so he does know about the chemical stuff which civilian doctors are not aware of, nor most of the VA doctors.

LadyVet · 08-26-2009, 20:18

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia are 2 diagnosis they give to the Gulf War Illness. The VA has it in their "rule book" that compensation is for undiagnosed illnesses. So if they give the ailment a name, they don't have to compensate it. The VA will NOT do the proper testing for the GWI. But, if you have a private doctor, he or she can call Dr. Larry Goss in Walters, OK and he will tell your doctor the proper protocol to test for the GWI. His phone number is (580) 875-3320. His address is 102 North Broadway, Walters, OK 73572. He was the doctor that tested me for GWI.

I hope this information is helpful.

Grullogal · 08-27-2009, 05:23

Thanks Ladyvet. I did get my diagnosis about 14 years ago I was diagnosed with "undiagnosed illness" by a VA doctor, who was a psychiatrist and had diagnosed me with Depression/Anxiety, PTSD. I was so tired all the time. Well, he didn't know HOW tired until I went to physical therapy and fell asleep during a treatment and did not even know she touched me, she had to shake me to wake me and then I was in that "fog", that was the first time someone outside of the family witnessed my "tiredness", he then sent me to neurology and they did many tests and they determined I had an undiagnosed illness. I had/have the priviledge of having the same Doctor all this time, in fact 16 years at the VA but he is only following the CFS part of my illness along with the depression. I have been fortunate that way as he has helped me a lot. He is from a teaching VA in a large city. It is my primary care provider that doesn't understand at a VA in a smaller town. She is fresh out of school and young enough to be my daughter and to try to explain something that she has no idea about is difficult at best. Then she will leave and we will get another one. That's why I had my psychiatrist talk to her and also my husband.

ONEWALK · 09-02-2009, 13:03

RR MOMMA,

Yes it will forever be "Hurry up and wait".Yes you must talk to a patient rep and document your concerns as a consumer-client of VA services.It will not change if veterans do not stake the position of consumer and advocate for them selves.I began trying to get access to Va medical care in the 1970's.Denied every time.In 2000 I was having chest pains and they turned me away again.Remind me to tell you the rest another day.Be your own advocate and thinkgraceb4uleap.You have your best interest in a way others may not care to or want to.The more women who speak out the more changes will come.During my surgery at a VA medical center I had no shade up to my door on a co-ed floor.Simple privacy we need.They left my morphine IV beeping off the chain most of the time and when it was empty the IV was not removed quickly.I feel you RRmoma.Advocating for ourselves will change policy.