A Lean Six Sigma study will help guide a portion of the multi-pronged plan recently announced by Veterans Affairs Department Secretary Robert McDonald to repair the damage caused by systemic poor service and performance at the agency.
McDonald’s “action review,” released Nov. 6, 2014 came after VA overhaul legislation was passed in August in response to long wait times for appointments at veterans’ hospitals – records of which were manipulated and hidden.
The scandal erupted with a news report that some 40 veterans had died while waiting for care in the Phoenix, Arizona Veterans Health Administration facilities. A subsequent internal VA audit found that more than 120,000 veterans were left waiting or never got care; schedulers were pressured to engage in inappropriate practices to make waiting times appear more favorable.
The Lean Six Sigma study will look at the private sector to benchmark acceptable wait times for patient care. The breakdown will by primary and specialty care and geography. As of 2012, the VA’s primary care wait-time goal was seven days; 14 for specialty care. The pressure on the system has only intensified with military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
All told, McDonald’s action plan is to repair the damage to the VA and its image by focusing on rebuilding trust, improving patient services and establishing a solid course for reforming.
You can read the action plan here.
