A computer glitch that arose when the Department of Veterans Affairs switched to ICD-10 last October canceled a large number of patient consults and procedure orders, reports DisabledVeterans.org.
The glitch in the VA's computerized patient record system was already taking place before the Oct. 1 ICD-10 switch--but to a lesser degree, according to the article. The publication learned of the problem via an email alert sent to employees, though it claims the incident was not reported to the media or on the VA's patient safety alerts Web page.
The VA Central Office installed a patch on Dec. 29 to correct the computer problem. The patch allows the facility to generate a detailed report of all canceled consult and procedure orders going back to Sept. 1. The central office would contact individual physicians if one of their patient's orders was canceled, according to the email.
More than a year after long care delays for veterans set off a massive scandal within the VA, access problems may only be growing worse, according to an independent report commissioned by the VA.
Veterans at the Phoenix VA facility, the center of the scandal, continue to wait as long as six months for care, CNN reported recently. And access problems persist at the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center, according to USA Today. It also says whistleblowers there have become the subject of a VA investigation, part of an ongoing problem with retaliation.
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