VA Hospitals Appointment Wait Times: 14 Days is 14 Days Except When It Isn’t 14 Days.

'A Veterans Affairs employee at the VA Medical Center in Cheyenne, Wyoming, has been placed on administrative leave after CBS News obtained an email showing an employee directing his staff on how to game the appointments system to make it appear as though veterans were being seen within the VA's 14-day directive.

The email, written by Telehealth Coordinator David Newman, a registered nurse, describes how patients at the Cheyenne VA Medical Center are always listed getting appointments within a 14-day window, no matter when the appointment was first requested, and no matter how long the patient actually waited.

The memo admitted, "Yes, this is gaming the system a bit..." because "when we exceed the 14 day measure, the front office gets very upset, which doesn't help us."

The employee further instructs staff on how to "get off the bad boys list" by "cancelling the visit (by clinic) and then rescheduling it with a desired date within that 14 day window."' - Email reveals deliberate effort by VA hospital to hide long patient waits, CBS News, 05/09/201

Link to entire story appears below:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/email-reveals-effort-by-va-hospital-to-hide-long-patient-waits/