VA overstates record on wait times for appointments, report finds.

From McClatchy Newspaper:

WASHINGTON - The Department of Veterans Affairs continues to significantly overstate its success in getting patients to see doctors for timely appointments, undercutting one of its key claims of success, according to a draft report obtained by McClatchy Newspapers.

While top VA officials told Congress earlier this year that 95 percent of appointments are scheduled within 30 days of a patient's requested date, the true number is about 75 percent, according to the analysis by the department's inspector general.

The report hasn't been released and is stamped "Draft - For Discussion Only." It's in the final stages of preparation and could be revised.

In a statement, VA spokesman Matt Smith said the department was reviewing the report and remains "committed to ensuring our veterans are seen in a timely manner." The VA said it will visit facilities in need of improvement and will hire a contractor to review the department's scheduling procedures.

Some medical centers performed far worse than average. In Columbia, S.C., and Chillicothe, Ohio, only 64 percent of VA appointments were within 30 days of a patient's request, the report said. The high score among centers studied was Detroit at 84 percent.

The inspector general's report is an update of a similar report from 2005. It's based on an analysis of 700 medical appointments and 300 referrals at 10 VA medical centers, as well as interviews with 113 VA schedulers.

Waiting times for veterans to get in to see doctors are closely watched by Congress and veterans' advocates.

In February, the VA's top health official, Michael Kussman, told a congressional committee that the VA provides 39 million appointments a year - and 95 percent of them are done within 30 days of the patient's request.