San Diego VA PTSD program is a mess

VAOIG REPORT: SAN DIEGO VA'S PTSD PROGRAM IN DISARRAY

-- No full-time director...

Clinicians doing research while trainees handled clinical duties...

Staff didn't follow-up on appointment no-shows.



Executive Summary

The purpose of this inspection was to review allegations regarding the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Program at the VA San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS):
We substantiated that the designated Medical Director of the PTSD clinical team (PCT) and the PTSD Program does not function as a full-time director. At the time of our review, the Medical Director was only available for program management and clinical care 0.5 days per week and spent the remainder of his time on research studies. In light of the salient role of PTSD treatment in veteran mental health care and the increasing number of recently discharged veterans and Vietnam era veterans seeking VA mental health services, the substantial presence of a clinician-administrator appears to be reasonable and warranted.

In the absence of valid workload and productivity data, it appeared that generally, the PTSD Program is able to meet requests for group or individual evidence-based therapy. However, during times of higher volume, the demand exceeds the ability to provide individual therapy slots.

go here for more

http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfaug08c/nf083008-1.htm