Unreliable tests were substituted for colonoscopies at Texas VA

VA hospital wait time concerns spread to South Texas
Associated Press
Published: May 12, 2014

AUSTIN, Texas — Concerns about scheduling practices at veterans' hospitals in Central Texas and San Antonio have spread to the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas.

A former top official at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Harlingen told investigators that unreliable tests were substituted for colonoscopies, according to documents obtained by the Austin American-Statesman. The closest VA provider who performed colonoscopies was four hours from Harlingen, and the VA did not want to pay to provide them closer, Dr. Richard Krugman, former associate chief of staff at the hospital, told investigators.

"Patient care was impacted by the VA's requirements to cut costs," Krugman said.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is investigating scheduling practices at its hospitals in Texas as part of a nationwide audit of access to care. A whistleblower at San Antonio's North Central Federal Clinic, Brian Turner, said he and other clerks were instructed to manipulate scheduling data so it appeared there were no wait times.
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