“As Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers geared up in early March to respond to the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic, many moved to cancel elective procedures and in-person medical appointments in an effort to protect patients and staff from exposure and focus on coronavirus care.”
“From March 15 through June 15, the Veterans Health Administration — or the veterans themselves — canceled 11.2 million appointments across the system.”
“While roughly 5 million of those appointments were tracked — either conducted by telephone, video or rescheduled, at least 3.3 million needed the same type of follow-up and didn’t get it, the VA Office of Inspector General said in a report released Tuesday.”
“The OIG review remains ongoing as inspectors look over the remaining canceled appointments, as well as efforts to reschedule and reach out to veterans.”
“The lack of follow-up, OIG inspectors said, may put patients at increased risk of not getting needed medical care.”
“‘The OIG recognizes the efforts of VHA personnel to manage the needs of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic,’ inspectors wrote in the report, ‘Appointment Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic.’ ‘Avoiding non-urgent, face-to-face appointments was warranted but unfortunately increased the risk of patients not receiving rescheduled appointments…’” Read the full article here.
Source: Millions of VA Appointments Canceled During Pandemic Have Not Been Rescheduled – By Patricia Kime, September 2, 2020. Military.com.
