Veterans Affairs:
Service Delays at VA Outpatient Facilities
T-HRD-94-5: Published: Oct 27, 1993. Publicly Released: Oct 27, 1993.
Additional Materials:
- Full Report:
Contact:
GAO discussed the timeliness of the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) outpatient health care services, focusing on: (1) the reasons for service delays; and (2) solutions VA should consider to improve service delivery. GAO noted that: (1) VA outpatient facilities have experienced significant delays in delivering medical care services; (2) veterans generally wait approximately 1 to 3 hours for nonurgent examinations and up to 9 weeks to obtain specialty services appointments; (3) medical care service delays are attributable to inefficient clinic operating procedures that require veterans to obtain services on a walk-in basis and result in needless waits, dissatisfied veterans, and stressful working conditions; (4) VA needs to restructure its outpatient delivery system and provide more timely ambulatory services if it is to compete with other health care providers; (5) VA should develop a system-wide patient-oriented process that includes telephone assistance networks and appointment scheduling for nonurgent conditions; and (6) although VA has a responsibility to provide veterans with timely health care, it needs to restructure its ambulatory care system to be competitive under the health care reform initiative.
Jan 14, 2021
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Prescription Drugs:
Department of Veterans Affairs Paid About Half as Much as Medicare Part D for Selected Drugs in 2017GAO-21-111: Published: Dec 15, 2020. Publicly Released: Jan 14, 2021.
Dec 10, 2020
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VA Construction:
VA Should Enhance the Lessons-Learned Process for Its Real-Property Donation Pilot ProgramGAO-21-133: Published: Dec 10, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 10, 2020.
Dec 9, 2020
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VA Disability Benefits:
Process for Identifying Conditions Presumed to be Service Connected and Challenges in Processing Complex Gulf War Illness ClaimsGAO-21-253T: Published: Dec 9, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 9, 2020.
Nov 12, 2020
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Veterans Health Care:
Agency Efforts to Provide and Study Prosthetics for Small but Growing Female Veteran PopulationGAO-21-60: Published: Nov 12, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 12, 2020.
Sep 30, 2020
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VA Health Care:
Additional Steps Could Help Improve Community Care Budget EstimatesGAO-20-669: Published: Sep 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 30, 2020. -
Veterans Community Care Program:
Improvements Needed to Help Ensure Timely Access to CareGAO-20-721T: Published: Sep 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 30, 2020.
Sep 28, 2020
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Veterans Community Care Program:
Improvements Needed to Help Ensure Timely Access to CareGAO-20-643: Published: Sep 28, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 28, 2020.
Sep 21, 2020
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VA Disability Benefits:
VA Should Continue to Improve Access to Quality Disability Medical Exams for Veterans Living AbroadGAO-20-620: Published: Sep 21, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 21, 2020.
Sep 16, 2020
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VA Acquisition Management:
COVID-19 Response Strains Supply Chain While Modernization Delays ContinueGAO-20-716T: Published: Sep 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 16, 2020.
Sep 9, 2020
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Veteran Suicide:
VA Needs Accurate Data and Comprehensive Analyses to Better Understand On-Campus SuicidesGAO-20-664: Published: Sep 9, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 9, 2020.
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