A Veterans Affairs hospital in Colorado falsified the wait times faced by thousands of its patients—the second VA facility to be found cooking its books in what has become a national scandal—USA Today reports:
Clerks at the Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Fort Collins were instructed last year how to falsify appointment records so it appeared the small staff of doctors was seeing patients within the agency's goal of 14 days, according to the investigation.
A copy of the findings by the VA's Office of Medical Inspector was provided to USA TODAY.
Many of the 6,300 veterans treated at the outpatient clinic waited months to be seen. If the clerical staff allowed records to reflect that veterans waited longer than 14 days, they were punished by being placed on a "bad boy list," the report shows.
"Employees reported that scheduling was 'fixed,' " the findings say. […]
While investigators found that VA policies were violated, local medical leaders concluded that the violations were the result of confusion, and no disciplinary action was taken, says a VA statement released Saturday.
Last week whistleblowers came forward with evidence that a VA hospital in Phoenix used a secret list to hide egregious wait times from officials in Washington. At least 40 patients died from delays in treatment.
Three Phoenix VA officials were placed on administrative leave last Thursday following allegations that the hospital was destroying evidence.
The VA Inspector General is conducting an investigation of the whistleblower claims, as is a congressional committee.