VA vows better reporting on bad health workers

Agency was covering history of problems

The Department of Veterans Affairs pledged to overhaul its reporting policies for bad medical workers, and a group of lawmakers introduced regulatory legislation after a USA TODAY investigation found the VA routinely concealed shoddy care and staff mistakes.

VA Secretary David Shulkin directed agency officials to expand a nearly 30-year-old policy that limited what medical providers the agency would report to a national database created by Congress to prevent problem medical workers from crossing state lines to escape their pasts and keep practicing. The agency will report all clinicians going forward, VA spokesman Curt Cashour said.

Shulkin asked staff to rewrite 10-year-old guidelines for reporting workers to state licensing

“VA’s new direction is to hold employees accountable and to be transparent.” VA spokesman Curt Cashour

boards in an effort to speed up the process.

“VA’s new direction is to hold employees accountable and to be transparent with our findings and actions,” Cashour said.

The legislation from Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers, R-Wash.; Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn.; and Rep. Bruce Poliquin, R-- Maine, would require VA doctors to report directly to state licensing boards within five days of witnessing unacceptable behavior from fellow doctors.

The USA TODAY investigation found the VA frequently failed to ensure its hospitals reported problem health care providers to state licensing boards. The investigation found the VA policy on reporting to the national database left out thousands of providers. The agency reported only physicians and dentists — no nurses, physicians’ assistants or podiatrists.