VA hospitals are O K in my evaluation

[joeoconnell]

have you noticed that the media is quick to put the VA hospitals in a negative light. i am a disabled vet and i have received top notch care ever since the Korean war from the VA and now that i have P/C i still get the very best of care for all my disabilities related to advanced age

[gusgold]

Agree...my experience with the VA has been good

[softwaremom00]

There are a lot of good caring health care folks at the VA.

[Hidden]

My close friend and mentor was done in by the Long Beach V A last yr. They bothched a surgery to remove a tumor from his bladder . Punctured bladder , he lost 5 pints of blood. Was in VA for several months . Told the Stage 4 bladder now spread out of control .. “ nothing we can do for you.” Went home on liquid morphine for 2 months . Couldn’t take the pain. Morphone burned his throat so,everything even water burned like fire going down. We went to see him , took him to Newport Beach , he told me he was ready to go , couldn’t take the pain. This was a Vietnam vet, a master of Hop kido trained in taking incredible pain and able to handle 5 normal attackers at one time. 74 master James . Rip dear friend He definitely was screwed by V.A . I,also,have 2friends with Asian orange, one passed away suffering increasingly with out any help until it was too late.. It’s not just the V. A . It’s anytime government thinks it can administrate any business , total waste and inefficiency. Look at the US PO . They lose 50 billion a yr. good business techniques Uncle Sam . On the other hand. We re lucky not to be poor living in the third world without any help whatsoever.. Good luck ..

[joeoconnell in reply to Hidden]

i am sad to hear his outcome . i think similar incidents happen in civilian hospitals too

[Hidden in reply to joeoconnell]

That’s for sure..

[patandemma]

pnly the horrible VAs get in the news,not the good ones.

It also does't help that the head of the system,DrDavid Shulkin,who promised to right the system was just this month forced to pay back ~$120,000 of VA money he used on a luxury vacation/shopping trip to europe. VA civil service being what it is,he can't be fired--just as he is pretty much unable to fire VA employees who have actually hurt patients

[Thomcu]

It's been my experience that it really depends on the individual VA hospital and the treatment team that you wind up with. We all know things should be equal no matter where you go, sadly it's not. A few years ago I moved from NJ to Florida, I have nothing but good to say about the VAMC in West Palm Beach.

[Hidden]

My father's VA doctors missed the diagnosis on his celiac disease; said all his vomiting was an emotional problem or something. He died 3 years later, in a VA hospital, at age 49. Cancer of the duodenum. Killed by gluten and medical malpractice.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

That’s horrible. I m very sorry ..

[20PeteG16]

Joe,

I am a disabled veteran and have volunteered with the VA Clinic in Beaufort SC. Our regional VA hospital, Ralph A. Johnson in Charleston SC has a five star rating, however, for every 10 satisfied patients there are also a few with legitimate complaints. Still to date the "VA System" with nearby public teaching hospitals trains the majority of medical residents in the US. Remember, priority for VA patients is based on service connection and often these can be much more ill or complicated patients than the average US citizen. Perhaps "never-served a day in military" media provocateurs may overlook this uncomfortable truth.

There is always room for abuse, fraud and improvement in the practice of medicine.

PeteG

[Hidden]

I agree those Non vets are outsiders , like me .but to say the V A hasn’t killed thousands needlessly isn’t correct either ,. Maybe our liberal media is making it all up.

[joeoconnell in reply to Hidden]

what you say may well be true, but in my case i have had the best of care

[Hidden in reply to joeoconnell]

That’s very good! I’ve just known a couple close friends that we all felt were short changed in general by the V A . I’m not a vet.But many in my family are.. Medical mistakes are 3rd cause of death in US. No matter VA or accredited private facilities. Human error. My brother said he’s going to the va for ptsd, I’ll let you know... good luck...

[Hidden]

I've had a good overall experience with the VA. They seem fairly responsive, the website is good, they call before every appointment as well as e-mail and snail mail. And there's no way to beat the price.

There are things I don't like though such as the fact that I have not seen the same Medical Oncologist twice. I've had three appointments, each one with a different doctor. They all seemed to be qualified, but none were familiar with my history, etc.

Another issue I have is my PSA has begun to slowly rise indicating the need to start second-line ADT at some point in the near future. At my last appointment the doctor was not concerned and said that unless I had new pain symptoms, they wouldn't start Zytiga. I don't agree with this and I'm in the process of getting a second opinion.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

That is bull####? It’s about $$$$

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

You are probably right about that. The VA does seem more stingy, but then they pay almost 100% of everything.

I was going to Kaiser until about 6 months ago. They are totally the opposite, they wanted to do everything, whether you need it or not. The care was great, but there were unnecessary tests, procedures, and appointments, always with their hand out for more of those F**king "co-pays" every time I went through another door. I ran up $4500 in co-pays in about 6 months with them.

I'm sure Kaiser would start me right now on Zytiga, but I'm also sure I'd be paying out the wazoo for it. If that's what I have to do, I will.

But it's well worth a little more effort with the VA because the cost will be almost zero and Zytiga is very expensive.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

I bought and paid for the best blue cross before dx thinking at worst a RP , didn’t happen. Instead over 11/2 years .Out of pocket 40 k but blue cross paid over 800k,. Thank blue cross! I was treated well for my first brush with disease. Flash forward 3years to now. I’m on Medicare and grateful for that although the quality and choices are the cheap route... ie will they sport for the expensive next stage drugs if needed ? Could be cut backs as we speak to healthcare, it’s out of my hands .. There was a comic book when I was a kid...with Alfred E Newman . ...... “. “ WHAT ME Worry”?