Skip to main content

VA is risking veterans' lives by not tracking implants properly



All doctors are aware that records of what is done to patients need to be maintained properly, but this is not the case for veterans under the care of the Veterans Administration. They do not have a logical record keeping system in place in case there is a recall on any item they need to implant into patients. If there is a recall, which has occurred, they have to spend extra time trying to figure out where the implant went and how to track down the patient. Such a situation can be terrible if the implanted device can cause health issues or even death.

GAO Report

Here, via the GAO report, is what they found.

“Multiple Veterans Health Administration (VHA) offices are involved in overseeing implantable medical devices received by veterans. VHA's National Center for Patient Safety, the lead office for patient safety issues, is responsible for monitoring device safety issues. This office evaluates patient risk when safety issues are identified and collaborates with VHA's clinical program offices to develop VHA's response. National program offices for clinical specialties such as the National Cardiac Device Surveillance Program and the National Surgery Office are also responsible for overseeing cardiac electronic and orthopedic devices, respectively.”

“GAO found that VHA is unable to ensure that all non-biological implantable medical devices are tracked to individual patients. Such tracking is important so that when a safety issue occurs VHA can ensure patients are notified and receive appropriate care. For the two clinical specialties reviewed, the National Cardiac Surveillance Program was able to effectively track cardiac electronic devices to individual patients, but the National Surgery Office was not able to effectively do so for orthopedic devices. VHA policy requires tracking outside the medical record for cardiac devices but does not require it for orthopedic devices. Accordingly, this gap adversely affects VHA's ability to ensure such tracking is occurring.”

“GAO also found VHA has not fully assessed, across all specialties, its ability to ensure that non-biological implantable medical devices can be effectively tracked to individual patients. Officials with the National Center for Patient Safety and others have recognized the need to develop better tracking capabilities across VHA. An assessment of VHA's ability to track all non-biological implantable medical devices across all clinical specialties could help the agency target and prioritize the most critical devices. This would help ensure these patients receive appropriate care in the event of safety issues.”

It would seem that yet again, the one agency tasked with making sure the men and women who are willing to die for this nation are treated like garbage. There have been recalls and veterans have not had timely, if any, notice that this was the case. There is plenty of money to waste on criminal invaders, but there is no common sense when it comes to the care of those willing to serve the nation.


See my content at: https://www.facebook.com/PaulShannonRamblings/

Help support me at: https://www.patreon.com/FreedomVN

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

House GOP slashes millions in support of criminal aliens and abortions

The House GOP fought to remove questionable pet project funding from the federal budget, which included help for abortions and criminal aliens. This will save millions of taxpayers, which will also prevent voter backlash to members of the GOP who have done nothing when they have done nothing regarding their campaign promises. Some of the places that lost funding will cause an uproar within the LGBT community and their supporters, but it will also cut a bloated budget that is dragging us further into debt. Abortion Locations Congressman Robert Aderholt (Al-4) who is the Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, listed several of the projects that lost funding. Women and Infants Hospital in Rhode Island was to get $1.8 million and is known for late term abortions. Dartmouth Hitchcock, Nashua in New Hampshire was to receive $650,000 and is also known for late term abortions. These being removed cleared away a lot of the politica...
Post a Comment
Read more

One of the ways modern healthcare is shaped by insurance

  People need to be aware of the ways that insurance companies shape how doctors treat people, as it affects their personal care. There are multiple terms and groups that people have never heard of that become important to medical practices and getting paid. Some of the ways that insurance makes demands are common sense, which should make people wonder why doctors are doing certain things. At the same time, the demands raise administrative costs for doctors, while shaping how they can be paid. Quick Disclaimer This article is for education purposes, not as a complaint against any of the people mentioned. It is so that people will know about an important part of their lives. Much of the way that this information was gathered for understanding was by getting to talk with someone who has been an insurance quality professional for almost two decades. Some of it can be disturbing to some, while other parts are just a way for people to gain knowledge.  NCQA and HEDIS One of the grou...
Post a Comment
Read more

Interview with Illinois 8th District GOP Candidate Mark Rice

  All members of the House are up for election, which happens every two years. I am attempting to get all of them to answer 7 questions. This will most likely not happen this election cycle, but there will be some, such as Mark Rice, in this article. He is running for the Illinois 8 th Congressional District , which encompasses part of Chicago and the surrounding areas. The area has been represented by Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi since 2017, who has some strong stances, but is the typical Chicago and National Democrat. Mark Rice Here, from his campaign website , is a short biography on Rice. Here is a man that can understand the energy issues plaguing this nation. “Mark was a fourth generation Texan and attended college in Austin where he graduated in 1985 from the University of Texas. Mark has served on several boards in Illinois including the Jewish Community Center of Chicago, Camp Apache, and Project Interchange. He is the passionate founder of Trevian Youth Football on...
Post a Comment
Read more