Alaska VA Clinic Without Doctors
Three doctors that practiced at a clinic in Wasilla decided to not renew their contracts. In the meantime, some former employees at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center say they were told to falsify records on follow-up care.
The Associated Press: VA Clinic In Wasilla Without Doctors
The Veterans Affairs clinic in Wasilla is without doctors after the three physicians working under contract over the summer decided not to renew .... A nurse practitioner, who transferred from Anchorage last week, is now carrying the 1,000-patient caseload. The Mat-Su Veterans Affairs Community Based Outpatient Clinic is supposed to have two full-time doctors but has been down one since 2012. The last full-time doctor left in May, KTVA reported. "There were three physicians at various times who had been selected to come work there and had dropped out for various reason or there were credentialing issues with them," said Cynthia Joe, chief of staff for the Alaska VA Healthcare System (9/4).
The Associated Press: Minneapolis VA Medical Center Records Falsified, Ex-Workers Say
Two former employees of the Minneapolis VA Medical Center allege they were pressured to falsify patient appointment dates and medical records to hide delays, a television station reported. In a report that aired Wednesday night, the ex-employees told KARE-TV that in some cases, they were told to falsify medical records by writing that patients had declined follow-up treatments when, in reality, they say the veterans had never been contacted. The former VA workers fear that patients' lives may be at risk because they say some cases involved suspected colon cancer (9/4).
KARE: Veteran Claims VA Failed To Schedule Important Medical Procedure
The Minneapolis VA Medical Center is apparently trying to tackle a backlog of patient scheduling needs that could potentially jeopardize the health of veterans, according to emails obtained by KARE 11 News. The internal emails show the Minneapolis VA is calling people in on weekend overtime to clean up a massive backlog of patient appointments that appear to have been improperly cancelled. The revelation comes in the wake of a KARE 11 News investigation into allegations made by two former Veterans Administration employees who say VA supervisors pressured them to falsify medical records by saying patients had refused treatment even though they hadn't been contacted. Both former employees have filed an official whistleblower complaint against the VA with Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (Lagoe, 9/4).