More than a year after scandals forced the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to resign
, VA directors in San Diego held a panel Monday to share improvements in patient care and wait times, while admitting some problems remain too difficult to overcome.
The VA San Diego Healthcare System has seen an 82 percent reduction in backlogs of cases this year, compared to the numbers in 2013, according to Patrick Prieb, director of the VA's Regional Office.
“Here in San Diego we've reduced our backlog from 20,434 cases in February of 2013 to 3,529 cases this week,” he said. “And we're on course to significantly reduce these even further in 2015.” Nationally, the backlog has been cut from 611,000 in March 2013 to 110,000 this week.
He attributed the progress in part to mandatory, 20-hour per month employee overtime and streamlining the claims process online. However, delays in appeals persist as the VA averages eight issues for a disabilities claim, and 11 percent appealed disagreements on a claim.
For the medical side, wait times are down to two days for the first appointment, but follow-up appointments still take time. Veterans are now offered a choice to seek an outside healthcare provider, officials said, and insurer TriWest is working with the VA and healthcare systems Sharp Healthcare and UC San Diego.
Local
Jeffrey Gering, Director VA San Diego Healthcare, said about 75 percent of San Diego veterans choose to wait rather than go outside the system.
“If you are attached to the VA healthcare system, many of our veterans, in fact most of them, say, ‘Look I'll just wait,’” said Gering, “and so that might be 45 days, it might be 32 days, you know, or maybe longer, but we're calling every one of those veterans and offering that option.”
Wait times for local mental health patients average roughly 30 days.
Part of the reason for the delay is a 1 -percent rise in the number of patients seeking care, creating a very heavy workload.
The VA said it is also having trouble retaining psychologists on the payroll, despite two pay raises in the last three years. Some doctors are leaving the VA because of quality of life issues.
“It can be very stressful seeing patients with serious mental illness, hour after hour after hour, day in and day out particularly when the system is stressed with more patients coming to us,” Gering said.
Of the more than 10,000 veterans who were given the choice to be referred to a psychologist through another network provider, 20 to 25 percent are choosing to go outside the VA, Gering said.
The director said there is a push in Washington, D.C. to move veteran health care into the private sector.
"I hate to see the day when there is no VA," Gehring said. "With the push towards choice, I hope that's not a precursor for that to happen in the future."
The Vet Center and Aspire Center are two VA programs that are helping to care for veterans living with PTSD. The Vet Center uses a variety of treatment options like equine and surf therapy, while the Aspire Center is an intensive, live-in program for post 9-11 combat veterans who are homeless.
San Diego VA officials said they have also built strong partnerships with veterans’ advocacy groups to be sure they are meeting the needs of local veterans. This relationship has served as a model for the National VA – My VA Community.
The agency said it is striving to continue to improve to meet the changing needs of San Diego veterans.
