The IG’s office at VA has started releasing what will be a series of reports on alleged manipulation of patient scheduling data, and meanwhile departmental management is citing disciplinary and other actions it is taking in response to information the IG already has provided to it.
The IG has so far released findings in 11 of 77 such investigations—many of them prompted by whistleblower complaints alleging responsibility of mid- and senior-level management—and findings on more than 30 other site-specific investigations are also still to come.
VA said that “in response to these concerns, accountability actions have already been taken where appropriate, and additional training and efforts to increase access to care have been underway since 2014 when these issues were discovered.”
“It is important to note that OIG has not substantiated any case in which a [Veterans Health Administration] senior executive or other senior leader intentionally manipulated scheduling data,” it said.
In 25 of the 77 completed investigations, the IG found no scheduling irregularity; in 18 of the remaining 52, it substantiated intentional misuse of scheduling systems and provided this information to agency management, the VA added. In 12 of those, management substantiated individual misconduct warranting discipline and has disciplined a total of 29 employees with actions ranging from admonishment to removal, including three who retired or resigned with discipline pending, it said.
