2021 Veterans Day Q&A with U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Denis McDonough

We apologize for any difficulty with scheduling your medical appointments. We want to deliver the highest quality, timely care. Veterans can reach their VA facility a number of different ways. Patients can call the facility, send a secure message to their care team, or send a request to schedule an appointment through the VA Online scheduling process.

We are introducing a new service in 2022 that will provide access to virtual care at every facility – with just one phone number to call for each of VA's 18 regional networks.

As this new service rolls out, we will offer Veterans pharmacy support, scheduling and clinical triage with someone available to answer your calls 24/7 – 365 days a year.

Veterans deserve timely access to the highest quality care and we're working every day to improve what we do.

Unfortunately, we are unable to answer questions specific to your individual claim in this forum due to privacy issues. Please contact our national call center for claim specific assistance at [login to see] for the status of your claim and so we may provide individual assistance.

VA monitors the Veterans wait times from the date the consult is entered to when the appointment is scheduled. VA Medical Centers continue to work towards improvements to decrease the Veteran's wait time for a scheduled appointment in the community.
There are six eligibility criteria for community care under the MISSION act. More information regarding these criteria are located at https://www.va.gov/COMMUNITYCARE/programs/veterans/General_Care.asp
The Veteran should discuss specifics of their case with their local VAMC.

Unlike Medicare, VA is not a private insurance plan. VA offers a comprehensive health benefits package that includes inpatient hospital care, outpatient care, prescription drugs coverage, and preventive care services. Veterans can have both Medicare and VA benefits, but Medicare and VA benefits do not work together. Medicare does not pay for any care that you receive at a VA facility. In order for VA coverage to cover the care, the Veteran must generally receive health care services at a VA facility. Community Care health providers are also available when VA cannot provide the care Veterans seek. Some enrolled Veterans are also eligible for long-term care services. Recommend Revenue Operations (13RO) review as well.

This question can be broken down into several components:
- Why do neurologists change so often?
o Several factors relate to the turnover of staff neurologists, the most significant of which is the national shortage of neurologists both inside and outside VA. The problem may be compounded in VA because neurologist salaries have not kept pace with the private sector. Additionally, sparse support staff for neurology clinics mean neurologists are performing administrative duties that either leave less time for clinical care or contribute to burnout and thus turnover. Affiliation with academic medical centers assists with recruitment and retention of high-quality neurologists.
o Academically affiliated VA medical centers are involved in training the next generation of healthcare providers, including neurologists. In these teaching facilities, neurology residents "turn over" every 2-3 years and usually adequately prepare their patients for the transition to another resident physician. Some clinics are staffed by rotating residents: in these cases, Veterans may never see the same resident physician, although the attending physicians are often constant.
o The average wait time to see a neurologist in the private sector is more than 30 days. Within VHA, we strive to see neurology patients within 30 days. In many cases, the need for timely care must be balanced with the desire for continuity of care.
o The Neurology office is working to ensure that the field recruits and retains neurologists through (1) competitive salaries for VA neurologists, (2) adequate staffing for neurology clinics, and (3) encouraging more full-time staff (nurses, clinical pharmacists, physician assistants) to provide additional consistency. The Neurology office will also inquire about the role of rotating residents in neurology clinics with the goal of maximizing continuity.
- Why are patients not notified when their physician will be leaving or transitioning to a new role?
o In the private sector when a physician leaves a practice, patients actively followed by that physician may receive a letter informing them that their physician is leaving and offering alternatives. Doing the same in VA is a reasonable request, however the paucity of administrative staff for specialty clinics makes carrying out these and other reasonable requests challenging particularly when neurologist turnover is high. It is our desire to treat all Veterans in a timely manner and to minimize handoffs between providers as much as possible. Also, nationally the new patient wait times for Cardiology clinics is below 28 days and in many areas of the country new patient wait times for VA Cardiology clinics are better than wait times in the community.

I have taken my 2 initial Pfizer vaccine shot back on 2/23/2021. I just received my Booster shot about 1 week ago. And everything seems fine. Trust in science and not in false information that you get over the internet. This country has the best medicines in the world.

The VA Loan Guaranty program is designed to assist Service members and Veterans to purchase a home to live in. Unfortunately this benefit cannot be extended to family members who do not live in the same home as the Veteran. Occupancy requirements can be found in 38 U.S.C. § 3704.

VA is committed to assisting Veterans who may have been exposed to hazardous materials during their military service. VA is seeking every avenue possible to develop a process with the utmost rigor where presumptions for disability compensation purposes can be determined in a more expedient and holistic manner for Veterans.

The CMCVAMC utilizes Physicians from the University of Pennsylvania.  These physicians are dually appointed physicians through our academic partnership.  We have an academic affiliation with Penn's school of nursing and train their students.  There is not any dually appointed nurses