Detroit Free Press: Legislators want more health data from VA hospitals
January 13, 2017
WASHINGTON – U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell and Tim Walberg of Michigan have reintroduced legislation which requires Veterans Affairs hospital to provide reports on infection rates, surgical cancellations and other quality of care matters.
Dingell, D-Dearborn, and Walberg, R-Tipton, had previously proposed the legislation last year after concerns were raised about surgical cancellations due to particulate matter being found on surgical equipment trays at a VA center in Ann Arbor.
"Veterans deserve to have faith in the care they receive," said Dingell. "This is standard operating procedure for nearly every other hospital in the country, and the VA shouldn't be exempt."
"To keep our promises to America's veterans, we need to increase transparency at VA hospitals so patients and the public know when quality of care standards are not being met," said Walberg. "The sooner we know about problem areas, the sooner we can work together to solve them."
The legislation, if passed by both the U.S. House and Senate, would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to report every three months to Congress on the number of patients contracting an infection as a result of surgery and the number of surgeries cancelled or transferred by the agency.
The two said public and private hospitals are already required to report a variety of quality measures to the National Healthcare Safety Network, including surgical infections but that VA hospitals do not publicly release that data, though they do provide information on pending and completed appointments and waiting times.
This article originally appeared in the January 12 edition of the Detroit Free Press.
Dingell, D-Dearborn, and Walberg, R-Tipton, had previously proposed the legislation last year after concerns were raised about surgical cancellations due to particulate matter being found on surgical equipment trays at a VA center in Ann Arbor.
"Veterans deserve to have faith in the care they receive," said Dingell. "This is standard operating procedure for nearly every other hospital in the country, and the VA shouldn't be exempt."
"To keep our promises to America's veterans, we need to increase transparency at VA hospitals so patients and the public know when quality of care standards are not being met," said Walberg. "The sooner we know about problem areas, the sooner we can work together to solve them."
The legislation, if passed by both the U.S. House and Senate, would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to report every three months to Congress on the number of patients contracting an infection as a result of surgery and the number of surgeries cancelled or transferred by the agency.
The two said public and private hospitals are already required to report a variety of quality measures to the National Healthcare Safety Network, including surgical infections but that VA hospitals do not publicly release that data, though they do provide information on pending and completed appointments and waiting times.
This article originally appeared in the January 12 edition of the Detroit Free Press.
Issues:Veterans