Investigation blasts VA over wait times for mental health care

Investigation blasts VA over wait times for mental health care

By LEO SHANE III AND MEGAN MCCLOSKEY
Stars and Stripes
Published: April 23, 2012

WASHINGTON — Calling the Department of Veterans Affairs’ data “of no real value,” the Inspector General on Monday slammed department officials for drastically overstating how quickly veterans were able to be seen for mental health issues.

The investigation found that veterans on average have to wait nearly two months – far longer than the VA has claimed. It also confirmed observations by members of Congress that veterans’ access to mental health services has been much more problematic than department officials have acknowledged.

Veterans Health Administration policy requires that all first-time patients requesting mental health services receive an initial evaluation within 24 hours, and a comprehensive diagnostic appointment within two weeks. VHA officials had said that 95 percent of its new patients were seen in that time frame.

But the new inspector general report called those calculations confused and inaccurate. By their researchers’ count, fewer than half of those patients were seen within the 14-day requirement. The average wait for a full evaluation among the rest was 50 days.

The report also sharply criticized VHA staffers for not following proper scheduling procedures, further confusing the data collection.

For new patients, scheduling clerks frequently stated they used the next available appointment slot as the desired appointment date for new patients, thereby showing deceptively short wait times. For established patients, medical providers scheduled return appointments based on known availability, rather than the patient’s clinical need.

Investigators also blamed some of the long wait times on shortages in mental health staff throughout the department.
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