Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Patient Advocate Standards for the Veterans Administration

By Genevieve Babychz

The Department of Veterans Affairs wants its patients to receive quality care and feel that they are served well. If a veteran or family member feels that care has been substandard, then they should first speak to the physician, the physician's supervisor and other members of the treatment team. If the concerns are not answered or addressed, then contacting the patient advocate is next. Patient advocates are employees who work to resolve questions and concerns for veterans under the care of the Veterans Administration. They have standards of behavior, respect and accountability they must meet.

Patients, family members, and friends of the VA health care system must have free and easy access to advocates. Contact information for the advocate must be posted in all inpatient and outpatient areas, and when an inquiry is made for the advocate it must be honored. Advocate information must be posted in common areas, on brochures, and in admission/triage posts. Listings of patients' rights must also be posted throughout the facility.

All complaints and inquiries must be answered or responded to within seven days. If an inquiry needs longer for a response, the advocate (or team) must send continual updates to the patient so that consistent contact is made. Each VA center---hospital or satellite clinic---must have at least one advocate on staff. Larger facilities will have more. All data compiled by the patient advocate must be accessible and used for tracking purposes, no matter the outcome of the case. These data must be made available to VA offices so that collaboration can occur for improved care. Semiannual forums need to address growing concerns for care and repeated complaints (i.e., wait times, pharmacy errors, misplaced files). This data sharing should not include information about specific patients. Participants are required to remain in compliance with patients' privacy rights and laws.

External agencies who wish to represent veterans' concerns within the VA system must be allowed to display promotional material in all common areas. These postings should be near the VA postings. These organizations are allowed to access patient records, with consent, and internal VA advocates must work with them.


http://www.lenderva.com

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