"VA chief vows to speed up veterans' disability claims" by Hope Yen, Associated Press | February 5, 2009
WASHINGTON - Eric K. Shinseki, the new secretary of veterans affairs, said yesterday that he is trying to reduce six-month delays in paying veterans' disability claims, and he said he wants to move quickly toward an all-electronic claims system that could speed up the process.
Like that is going to help:
"Patients at Veterans Affairs health centers around the country were given incorrect doses of drugs, had needed treatments delayed, and may have been exposed to other medical errors due to software glitches that showed faulty displays of their electronic health records"
Related: Standing Shinseki on His Head
In his first appearance before Congress since becoming secretary, Shinseki said the VA is looking at a major switch that would phase out paper processing, possibly by 2012. In the meantime, the VA will hire 1,100 more staff this year to deal with the backlog of cases, which typically involve paper stacks "going halfway to the ceiling," he said.
Yup, they can SEND THEM IN RIGHT QUICK, but when it comes time to CARE FOR THEM!!!!
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Shinseki, a former Army chief of staff, is taking over the VA, which was accused during the Bush administration of not doing enough to meet veterans' growing needs. Thousands of veterans currently endure six-month waits for disability benefits, and the VA is scrambling to upgrade government technological systems before new legislation providing for millions of dollars in new GI benefits takes effect in August.
But, but, but.... they SUPPORTED the TROOPS and the antiwar folk DID NOT!!!!!!!
In recent weeks, the Government Accountability Office found the VA was still lowballing budget estimates to Congress at the expense of tens of thousands of patients needing long-term health care.
SUPPORT the TROOOOOOOOOPPPPPPSSSSS!!!!!
The VA also acknowledged at least nine cases of giving incorrect doses of drugs - mostly blood-thinning heparin - due to widespread computer glitches that it did not disclose to patients....
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