This blog post discusses VA staffing needs including for psychology professionals. If you, or a loved one, are in crisis, there is a crisis line with confidential support that is especially for veterans - you do not even need to be enrolled in any VA benefits to receive this support. So, if you, or a loved one, are in crisis, please dial 988, then press 1. Or you can text to 838255. See the website here: https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/
It is always quite incredible how many patients VA handles. It is the largest integrated healthcare network in the United States, and VA claims over 9.1 million veterans are enrolled in the VA healthcare program. A study published in 2022 in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that mean wait times for veterans receiving care was 29 days for primary care, 33.6 days for mental health, and 35.2 for all other specialties. However, since passage of the PACT act in 2022, an additional 750,000 or so veterans are now receiving care at one of the many VA healthcare facilities around the United States and its territories. Part of the problem with so many veterans being served by a limited number of facilities is not just wait times, but cancellations.
A recent article at military.com identified that data provided by the VA showed that, from 2020 through 2023, the cancellation rate for mental health appointments by facilities averaged 10.6%, with a high of 12.1% in 2020 early in the COVID-19 pandemic to 9.2% in 2023. Cancellations can increase individual wait times. These cancellations are caused, in some cases, by staffing shortages at VA hospitals.
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for VA is mandated by the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act of 2017 (VCQEA) to determine the largest staffing shortages throughout its system. The OIG found 2959 severe occupational shortages for fiscal year 2024. While this is a 5% improvement over 2023, it still means that roughly 86% of VA facilities were experiencing severe occupational shortages. The most frequently reported clinical occupation with severe staffing shortages was psychology.
The Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014 act was, in part, meant to alleviate wait times by allowing veterans to access non-VA health care where those wait times exceeded certain times (and for other reasons). However, the 2022 JAMA study showed that wait times for care in the community were even longer with a mean wait time for psychology of 43.9 days.
Psychology staffing shortages, wait times, and, in particular, cancellations can have severely detrimental effects. Sometimes, those cancellations are unavoidable, caused by staffing shortages. Sometimes, cancellations can be negligent. If you believe a cancellation you've experienced was negligent, it is always a good idea to seek the opinion of a qualified attorney who is experienced with malpractice claims against VA.
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