Three secure messages, sent through the My Health eVet secure messaging system, all related to a need for VA Hospital services, and all reflecting something in common, the VA’s refusal to act.
First Email: Good Morning,
I have but one question, I would appreciate a timely and thorough response, within 24-hours. “Where is the advocacy from the patient advocates?”
Last Wednesday I needed to discuss the problems I am having with pharmacy refills, but was bounced off VA property because I can NOT Physically. Wear. A. mask! This is for patient safety concerns. Why am I being discriminated against and refused care at the VA Hospital and the patient advocates office is doing nothing to help improve this situation?
I was promised a letter from the VA Hospital Director over the incidents from June and July, still no response from the director or advocacy from the patient advocates. Why?
I need to be able to access the VA Hospitals services and cannot do so when the VA Police are enforcing a mask policy that puts my life in jeopardy! Without an adequate workaround to the mask policy, I suffer from refills that are delayed, and without the drive thru pharmacy, now have no recourse to develop a solution!
Why? Where are the Patient Advocates in standing up against the bureaucracy and demanding solutions for patient problems? Where are the Patient Advocates regarding the incidents from June and July, using hard evidence to improve VA Hospital performance?
Enough is enough! Where do I find a patient advocate?
Thank you!
Dr. Dave Salisbury
Second Email: Hello,
Is there a reason the drive-thru pharmacy is no longer? I must get refills and the refill process through the mail is taking 3-5 times longer than normal; thus, reordering when you have a 10-day supply remaining is not good advice as I keep running out before the delivery is made. Only because of the drive-thru pharmacy have I been able to stay ahead of medication emergencies with the refill process being broken.
Why? How do I get refills; when, because I cannot physically wear a mask, I cannot be seen in the VA ER or walk into the VA Pharmacy for refills?
I am thoroughly and completely out of two medications, they have both been reordered and I have no word on when they will arrive. The last refill on a diabetic medication took longer than normal (7-10 business days) to be received and I wonder when I should schedule reordering that medication with the added slowdowns and longer delivery times.
How do I gain refills when I have zero access to the VA Hospital and the refill process has failed to delivery on time?
Thank You!
Dave Salisbury
Third Email: Dr.
I do not know what is happening with pharmacy, but something must give! I reordered my refills with plenty of time since March 2020 through the Phoenix, VAMC, and I keep running out before the meds arrive!
Due to the continued increased symptoms, usage of medication increased, but the refill process has slowed, and without the drive-thru pharmacy I am stuck without access to pharmacy. Especially, since I can never get a straight answer when trying to use the phone.
As of this morning, I had to wake up, and take the remaining dosage and two Advil for the crushing, horrible light sensitivity, facial pain, twitch bordering, headache! How do I get this refilled with the drive thru pharmacy out of operation, and the VA Hospital off limits because I cannot physically wear a mask?
I have, as if this writing 0330 27 October 2020, been out of one medication for two days, having taken the last pill on Sunday (25 October 2020)! One of the reasons why I had 90-day supplies, instead of the VA (policy?) 30-day supply in Albuquerque was because of this exact reason, I kept running out before the deliveries were made. I must be able to trust the VA Pharmacy Refill process, and the pharmacy refill process is untrustworthy, and currently in disarray.
I showed up at the hospital last week (21 October 2020) trying to have this conversation with pharmacy and was first kicked out of the hospital, then escorted off property because I cannot safely wear a mask and asked why. I also asked for a copy of the mask policy, and had a supervisor turn himself into a pretzel trying to explain why he cannot produce a policy upon request. What do I do?
Thank you!
Dave Salisbury
Before leaving Albuquerque, NM., I had the privilege of being able to discuss certain topics with local hospital representatives. I had the ability to talk to directors, medical department heads, patient advocates, and so many more dedicated healthcare professionals who work in in non-VA or government run hospitals. Every one of them stated categorically that if their hospital was run like the VA Hospital system, they would have been fired, and more than likely legally charged with malpractice, shut down, and sued.
Let that sink in for a moment. The VA Hospital purports to be doing a service for veterans, but the biggest problem in veterans receiving care is too often the VA Hospital system, and if a non-VA Hospital was run in a similar manner, criminal, legal, and other repercussions would sink that hospital system forcing the government to take over to “rectify the situation.” Yet, this atrocious behavior is tolerated where the veteran’s hospital system is concerned; I can only ask why?
“The VA Hospital purports to be doing a service for veterans, but the biggest problem in veterans receiving care is too often the VA Hospital system!”
Why is it that every time a solution begins to show the promise of working, the VA bureaucracy stifles the momentum, destroys the people involved, and the veterans keep suffering? A recent VA Advertisement on LinkedIn talked about how the VA is available with a ready hand to help, it was very well marketed, the advertisement was full of great phrases, sound bite captions, and solemnity; except too often the marketing hype does not reflect reality. Yet, the veteran, the spouse, and the dependents suffer!
Want reality in a VA Hospital, if you and your symptoms do not meet a predetermined checklist of boxes, you are considered the problem and the VA Hospital cannot/will not help you. The VA Physician cannot issue a diagnosis, nor can the records of patient interactions have sway with the Veterans Benefits Administration for a claim determination. America sends troops all over the world, places them in literally thousands of crazy environments, but the Department of Veterans Administration still demands cookbook medicine, checklists, and cookie-cutter one-size-fits-most medical practices.
Want reality in a VA Hospital, ask a bureaucrat behind a desk why the patient is being inconvenienced, and watch how fast that veteran is labeled as “The Problem,” and the veteran gets surrounded by the VA Police who then threaten, attempt to intimidate, and arrest/fine that veteran. Average current time is less than 2-minutes!
Want reality in a VA Hospital, look at the lack of cleanliness, everywhere, and monitor how long spills, blood on walls, black “gunk” stuck in corners, etc. stays around. I have personally witnessed blood spots lasting on doors and walls for months before being removed, even after complaining about the mess multiple times. One incident, on an ER treatment room door, there was a roughly 2″ blood spot, dried, sticking to the back of the door, was there for 18-months before finally being removed. Yet, the VA Hospital system will always cheer, about cleanliness, friendliness, and helpfulness of VA Staffing.
Want reality in a VA Hospital, depending upon the tier upon service conclusion originally assigned to, you will experience a significantly different VA Hospital experience. Even if the Veterans Benefits Administration changes your disability rating, you do not change treatment tiers, and receive reduced medical care accordingly.
Need hospital records, run the leviathan and draconian process of filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, and wait. Need to understand policies and procedures, there is a FOIA for that as well, but do not expect anything written down; because, the VA operates upon the philosophy that if it is written down, then you can be punished for not complying. Not having operational procedures, patient care processes, standards of behavior, etc. written down provides a ready-made excuse for when the VA Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG) calls investigating. In over 10-years of reading and commenting upon VA-OIG reports, this remains the number one excuse for failures to comply, dead veterans, and incompetence masquerading around as leadership.
Where is the media, the watchdog of society? Where are the elected officials whose job it is to monitor the actions of the bureaucrats to ensure these problems do not begin, let alone thrive? Where is the patient advocate’s whose job is to stand between the bureaucracy, and the patient, to aid the patient in completing tasks that the patient cannot do for themselves? Where are the patient advocates who are supposed to be making suggestions for improvement based upon the data they collect from complaints and failures of hospital bureaucracy? Where are the patient advocates in improving operational policies to protect the health and safety of patients, before that patient ever arrives at the hospital facility?
The VA has removed my access to the VA-OIG reports, it has been two-months since I saw a VA-OIG report in my email box. This is standard practice for the VA, when problems arise, shoot the messenger instead of working to find and fix the problems, and this too is a reality at the VA!
© Copyright 2020 – M. Dave Salisbury
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