VA. DOCTORS

OLD:

I learned something yesterday, I called VA for some more med’s, and I was told that they dropped me from the book’s, I asked why would you do that, they replied because you have not seen your doctor for a year. I replied point is, they replied you must see your doc, 1 time a year , I replied even if I am not sick or need to see one. They replied That is right. I replied did it ever dawn on you that some people don’t get sick that often, They replied that’s the way it is. So now they want me to start the paper work all over again,
And I am proud to be a VET, Not only that but my wife and I got to looking at it:
I have Medicare + Humana a visit to my family Doc is $15.00 CO-Pay a visit to VA is $50.00 co-pay and my meds from town is $4.00 per, scrip, and my meds from VA is $8.00 per-scrip. Now some thing is not right. It makes you wonder.
O-well how’s your son doing at home. Well Bud I gota go so Ill talk at ya later.
JR.FRYE

Ya the V.A. is getting to the point that you can not trust them any more. I'm lucky since I have a 20% disability service connected so my meds are free but I also go in 2 or more times a year have an appointment for Friday as a matter of fact for my bad shoulder. I have noticed that the V.A. doctors no longer seem to care about the people they see at least that seems true about the one doctor I now see and I may transfer back to the V.A. hospital 100 miles away to get a doctor who at least seems to care

When i joined they recommended that I see my doctor once a year to make sure that everything is OK They won't issue Meds if you go over a year and i don't blame them in this sue happy world.
Walt

You dont want to go see the doctor and you think they should send you some meds without being checkedout once a yr. Your meds may need ajusted in a yrs. time . I would nt expect a doc to do it or would I want him to .

About 10-15 yrs ago they were pushing Vets to apply for there VA med benefits.You get the fancy ID with the pic and all.So I said why not, dont need them right now but Ill sign up.So I make the call and get my aplication in the mail.Well let me tell ya what,there aint many things in this screwed up world that infuriate me more than that application.They want to know how much money I make!!how much any one in my household makes!what are my assets!Holy Crap! Am I applying for welfare?Now listen,I was one of the lucky ones that didnt go to combat,just missed nam by months.But Ill tell ya what I was in the 82nd Airborne and at that time we were Americas Strike Force,could be anywhere in the world in 48 hrs.I sat on the runway many times with full gear fully ready to go and put my life on the line with no questions asked.They didnt care then how much money I made then.This is pathetic.Any honorable vet should be able to walk in any medical establishment and get full care with no questions asked.Yeah I know Im dreaming,but this subject just makes me crazy.Thanks for listening to my vent.

Stan

I agree with all of you, But I was never told to see my doc one's a year and the med's that I get are for allergies.
But to drop me from the books, That is STUPID.
Can I say GOD Bless AMERCIA or can I say GOD BLESS VA.

JR, It may seem unnecessary to you, but actually All prescriptions expire one year from the date written. At least they do here in TN. Therefor it would be illegal to fill them. Also, consider liability to the doctors. If something adverse affected you, Dr would look real bad in court when noted he hasn't actually looked at you in 3-4 years.

Well it's not been three years. It's 12 months.
But why drop me from the books and make me fill out all the paper work again. All they need to do is say come in and see your doc, again, By the way are you a VET?
JR:FYRE

Unfortunaly not/ I am a pharmacist and do deal with expired prescriptions quite regularly. I do appreciate you vets and understand your concerns for good quality care. Take care.

I keep hearing it"ll get better when the "empty suit"- big O & his gang of Dummies get done making the USA a Socialist country . Isn"t CHANGE one of his promises ? Will everyone be happy then with medical aid ? I don"t think so . The less fortunate who can"t work due to medical reasons will be pushed out of the way to perish . Then dumped into a hole somewhere to be forgotten . We definitely need Gods intervention . Mankind has things so messed up .

JR - another thing to think about. Who runs the VA? The government. Think what government run regular health care will turn in to eventually. Bob

I, for one, have absolutely no complaint about the treatment I get from the VA here in Nebraska.

Every fall, I get a letter reminding me it's time for my annual physical, with a number to call for an appointment. Never takes over two weeks to get an appointment. During the physical, they do a complete blood profile and have the results within a couple of hours. You meet with your assigned doctor and go over the blood profile, your meds, any problems you've been having, etc.

The doctor always has time to discuss anything you want to discuss, etc. All in all, the care I've gotten from the VA has been on a par with the better private care I've had.

Ditto

They want you to see your VA doc once a year. Called preventive maint. How isthat so hard to do? They have treated me very well. I have nothing but good to say about the VA. Do what they request and you will be fine. I thing they are a fine bunch. I would be dead by now if it weren"t for them.-Bill

I have good and bad to say about the VA. First, they missed an ear infection that I complained about for almost a year, 5 visits to the doc. When it got so bad puss was running out my ear went to hospital, had emergency care and surgury, spent week in hospital on heavy antibiotics, very good care, could not ask for better. But if doc had listened a bit more up front would not of been put through it. Got a bum hip, they did xrays, doc wondered how I could live with it, said it needs replacing. I said ok when, well I was told not a good canidate for surgury, just learn to live with it. So much for serving the country when they needed it.

Must be better in Nebraska. My dad was going to the VA in Topeka for treatment. After about 6 months he said he'd rather die than go back to them. He quit going and about 4 months later he did die. That was back in 1986 but I've heard things haven't changed much.

I have something to add to that one.
I believe most of those drs are govt paid and possibly close to being relieved of their duty's as a reg family practitioner because of their attitude towards their people they deal with.
My last VA Dr had no military background , I could have sued him but I didn't

He swore at me and he and not too choosing in words told me I was too heavy and I was going to loose weight or he would have me thrown out of system.

He himself about 5'7 "tall weighed about 240
If ya knocked him over he would have just rolled like a weeble wobble .

I never went back though I felt I was a vet and he never will know what one is .

Yes they threw me out !! I do demand the same respect that people like him does.

I trust God now to keep me healthy so I don't need this dude that acted like he was.

I want to say MANY THANKS for all of your comments
it means a lot to me. For the VETS THANK YOU;
JR.FRYE

JR,

I do not think it is exactly because it is due to not seeing the doctor, but due to the fact that you did not fill out the financial form they have you fill out every year now. If you are due to fill out the form they give it to you while you wait for the doctor, never mail them (at least not here). If no form they drop you, unless service disconnected. For some strange reason they even had the service disconnected fill out them form starting last year, but were told to just put our address and check "I do not wish to Disclose".

Hey LG........we be playing tennis on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9:00 A.M. Whoever shows up plays..........Come on down.

I"ve been with VA for about 4-5 years, left the civilian dr group because of their poor communication to me, and was eligible for VA. Don"t regret it one bit- excellent care and coverage. Now I"m also on Medicare, but chose a supplementary provider that does not recognize VA, so I have a co-pay for hosp stays. There are 8 eligibility groups- govt does not fund Group 8 at all, just the first 7, and to various degrees, depending on assets and income, service-connected issues, Purple Heart recipient. Annual means test is what you"re talking about, and if you fill it out, you can decline the income info, but then you automatically agree to paying the co-pay.

Gotta go Thursday to see me yearly Dr. they changed me so I have to see a new one. She is a girl so I hope she has a sense of humor. I do not take their abundant government ideas to seriously.

Oh well just trying to keep another door open in case the sky starts falling.

I will be honest with you I have never seen one.
JR.FRYE

Bill, I"m with you, I"ve been going to the VA for a few years now and I have told many people the service is as good or better than any private provider I have used before this. (even when paying $12 to $14 K per year for BC/BS. The people the VA select are by and large GREAT and caring folks. The other providers could take a lesson or two from the VA such as.... If you go to an appointment more than 15 minutes late you are put to the end of the line and will be served when the on timers are taken care of. Don"t any of you remember sitting in your doctors office for two or three hours maybe more past your appointment time just so they can overbook for the $$$$$. But I guess some folks just have to complain or they are not happy. Sorry for the rant but why screww up a good thing.

I have taken one of the guys that my wife takes care of in our house to the VA hospital here in Portland. After seeing what kind of grief many of the unstable patients heap on the staff, Its no wonder they do things screwy.
Tim in OR

I've been using V.A. for about 10 years now. I am not Service Connected, but have been told to apply for the disabilities I do have. Just waiting for them to find/confirm all the records now. I get a reminder in the mail in the early Spring, and early Fall to call for an appointment. These are basically preventive medicine physicals. I am able to discuss any problems I have, ask questions and so on at the time. My Doc takes time to answer the questions, and schedules any other work up, or referrals I need. If I need to see him more often, I can call to schedule another appointment, or walk in. Usually with a walk in at the outpatient clinic I use, my wait is at most 45 minutes. If it is emergency, I can go to a local hospital, or drive 60+ miles to the V.A. hospital. I had to have a surgical procedure in 2005, and was very impressed with the care, and efforts that took place. The Doc came out, and asked me which kidney were were working on, I told him, and he showed my the paperwork confirming it. He made "notes" on my skin, initialed it, and had me do it to. The nurse came in, talked to me, then used a scanner to verify everything on the wrist band, as well as having me look at the documentation. There was a new dye that had a very low reaction to, but I had to be different, and had a reaction. They sent to a private hospital to get the old dye, in case they needed it for the surgery. I was impressed, and comfortable with the care.I fill out a MEANS Test each year, and find it to be no big deal. Any information they ask for is readily available to almost anyone anyway. One advantage to using the V.A., is that as I travel across country to visit family and friends, I can go to any V.A. facility, and they can SAFELY access my medical records in the event I cannot give info etc. I have had excellent care so far. As for those who have a Doc they don't get along with, you can ask to be transferred to another Doc, it's no problem. The V.A. has a procedure for taking your complaints, and acting on them. I went in one morning, and a "Temp" from another site was working the window. She was very rude to the older Vets in front of me. She was rude to me when I stepped up. I talked to the nurse, she gave me a form to fill out, and gave me a choice to return it to her, or mail it in. I gave it to her, just to see how it would work. About 5 months later, I received a letter from the Central Texas VA System, telling me they appreciated my comments, and what had taken place. They terminated the "Temp" after interviewing the other Vets (anonymously), checking with her co-workers, and then conducting a series of classes to educate the clerks on how to treat the Vets, and what they went through to be a Vet. Apparently it worked, as I have not had another situation like that one. The system works for me, and many of us in this area. Your Mileage May Very...