I was seen today for potential asthma at urgent care, the doctor there believes it is asthma or some other obstruction in my airway. She wants me to see an ENT doctor within the next week... I would have to get a referral from my PCP, but they have no appointments until the end of July. Is there any work around people have found?
Been working with the VA for roughly 3 years now, with my 3rd year of reimbursement coming up. Got the email for the annual review and got my paperwork in place, except that back in December I got dinged for conduct issues (unrelated to my work, caused no damage, mostly hearsay) which I filed grievance but was denied due to "lacking evidence" and this left a strike on my record. My supervisor basically implied (after supposedly consulting HR) that this would prevent reimbursement and is grounds for program termination.
Don't believe this is fair since this was the only conduct issue on my file and otherwise I've only received stellar performance reviews and feedback since. Because of the massive amount of the EDRP reward (roughly $70k left on the award), this isn't something I can chalk up as an "expensive lesson"--I'm exploring employment lawyer options to fight if necessary.
I didn't receive any official statement on this, but I'm essentially bracing myself for the worst at the moment. The EDRP contract does indeed state SUSTAINED disciplinary action will cause termination while my conduct issue was just one episode so I'm hoping I have some ground, and the issue itself was so minor (i.e. to elaborate without additional details, this would not have been a conduct issue at another VA location) that punitive actions amounting to $70k (after tax) is excessive from any kind of standpoint.
I see a lot of EDRP questions asked on this subreddit so moreorless trying to grab at straws looking for insight until I receive an official response from the program managers, who can be a bit slow in responding. I've called a couple of firms already and most of them do require a significant consultation fee, so a legal dispute is something I'd like to use only as last resort.
Many thanks
have been nothing short of exceptional, from specialists to PCP to NPs, nurses and staff. Based on experience, they always respond, they're always helpful, and they really do care. On the flip side, I've witnessed grumpy vets disrespect staff with entitled, rude behavior. There's always going to be good & bad with any system, but that's also why there's a chain to report issues. There just seem to be so many complaints out there, and not enough civility so be grateful for the care we get. Thank you VA Long Beach!
This all happens with the Louisville VA in Kentucky (Greenwood clinic)
Hello,
I’ve been having an issue with my PCM since December; she cancels my appointments, then cancels them again. It took four tries to be able to see her via video chat. She’s not in the office as often.
This brings up an additional problem: trying to get refills on prescriptions. The first time I had this issue was in early March. I called, requesting a refill, and got no response for two weeks. Since day one, my PCMs have told me to contact the clinic two weeks before I run out of my medications. I gave them two weeks, then followed up (the website said the message hadn’t even been opened by a provider).
The nurse lady told me she’d forward the request on to my provider. I wait another week, and still nothing. My psychologist suggests I call patient advocacy, so I do.
And would you look at that! A prescription has suddenly been put in!
I got the prescription mid-April.
This month, I had a similar issue. A three week back and forth of trying to get my prescription. It’s gotten frustrating, and a little old. I will admit that I did get short with the nurse at one point because it was getting ridiculous—I did apologize, because she was stuck in the middle of all of it.
The final issue is this: I asked for a referral to a chiropractor. “I don’t see any evidence of back pain.” Ma’am, it’s all over my record. It’s one of my percentages. It’s all over the record. “Why haven’t you requested one before?”
“I did. Instead, I got sent to physical therapy. Eventually, when my requests are ignored, or shot down, eventually, I stop complaining about them because I’m not going to get the care I need for the issue.”
I’m 100% service connected disabled.
*Why* is it such a hassle to get *anything* done? Why do I have to keep kvetching constantly???
I had an appointment at the VA Hospital in Pittsburgh on Wednesday. While I was checking in to my appointment, I was openly threatened by the staff member who was checking me in.
Background: I am a 100% Service Connected disabled veteran. I use a wheelchair for mobility. Not really important, but for context.
Situation: I arrived for my appointment. There are 3 “Check in” windows, numbered 1, 2 and 3. The waiting room has quite a few people in it, but there was no one waiting at any of the check in windows. I roll up to window 2 because I didnt see anyone at window 1 (remember, I am in a wheelchair. I view the world from a different angle than you do when walking. If someone has 2 computer monitors in front of them, I cant see they are there without going up to the window and trying to see around monitors, pictures and all the other stuff we all keep on our desks...NBD, Im used to it). The lady at window 2 was typing something and asked me to go to window 3 because she was going to be a minute. Again, no big deal. I turn to my left, roll over a few feet, turn right and Im at window 3.
Now the problems start. The worker at window 3 immediately begins berating me for moving to her window from window 2 without moving back to the edge of the waiting area and waiting for her to call me forward. Now when I say “berating” me, Im saying she was talking AT me like I was a naughty toddler. Loudly enough for the other folks in the waiting area to hear. I guess she really wanted to make her point that she was in charge because she yelled at me for a good 30 seconds about my absolute lack of respect by coming directly to her window. You know...where the other staff member sent me.
When she stopped to take a breath, I asked her “Are you done?” very much like I would ask a child throwing a temper tantrum. If you want to yell at me like Im a child, you are getting treated like a child.
Yep, you guessed it. She was now triggered (and I thought she was worked up before). Her volume increased. So I asked her again, in a matching volume “Are You DONE?”
She got up and walked away from her desk, out of my line of sight over to the area behind her coworkers at windows 1 and 2, still yelling at me. She crap talked me more to them (and the folks in the waiting room, because she was still at an above average volume). When she came back to her window after maybe 20-30 seconds, I again asked her “Are you done?” She then yelled “NAME?” at me. I matched her volume and shouted my last name back. “LAST FOUR?” and she got my last 4 yelled back at her.
OK, Im checked in now...I roll over to the waiting area and park. She continues to loudly berate me to her co-workers..how I “Can't read the signs” and she “is not going to show no respect to someone who doesnt show her respect”. She knows I can hear her. She knows everyone in the waiting room can hear her. It seems like she WANTS everyone to hear her.
I roll over to window 1. Ask the lady there for the name of “Miss Charming” (yes, I said EXACTLY that). She (window 1) asked if she should tell the doctor I was going to the patient advocates office. I told her I certainly was I just needed the name first, at which point window 3 yelled “I've got your name too!”
That is a threat. That is a threat from someone who has access to my sensitive personal AND medical information. My name, address, phone number, social security number, etc. If anyone can explain to me how that is NOT a threat, I would love to hear it. I personally think she wanted to try and scare me (which she did) and as a warning to the other vets in the waiting room that if THEY piss her off, she has their names too.
So, I filed my complaint with the patient advocate. She said I would probably hear back that afternoon from the head of the clinic or the workers supervisor. I didnt. I filed a report with the VA police. I waited a day and messaged the patient advocate to let her know I had not heard back yet. This morning the patient advocate messages me that they have 7 business days to follow up with me, so they have until the 22^(nd) to complete contact or make 3 documented attempts to contact me on 3 different days
Straight up, I think thats a load of crap. She should have AT LEAST had her computer access locked immediately so she could not follow through with her threat. Instead she apparently has 7 business days to potentially steal my information and screw up my life?
I took this picture of the waiting area when I got back from the Patient Advocates office, glad I did now since someone decided to say
"She might have been passive aggressive and bitchy, but this post just screams "I didn't notice their check-in SOP, she corrected me on it, I got embarrassed and made it worse by poking the bear saying 'are you done' while matching her increasing volume."
OK, CainAu1998, please explain again how I didnt follow their SOP? It sure looks to me like this says "wait here until no one is in front of you". Do you see the same thing? Also, I am in a wheelchair. That makes me about 2-3 feet shorter than a person standing up. When someone is behind a counter that is shoulder height to me in my chair, with 2 computer monitors in front of them, THEY CANT SEE PEOPLE WAITING IN WHEELCHAIRS.
Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some help understanding a situation with my VA records and rating history.
I was previously awarded a 70% service-connected disability rating, but after a discharge-related issue, my record was changed to Chapter 17 status due to an OTH determination.
Since then, I was able to get my discharge upgraded and I submitted new claims. As a result, I was recently awarded 10% service connection, while some additional conditions were denied.
However, I’m confused because:
I’m trying to understand what happened and how to address it. Specifically:
Any guidance from anyone familiar with similar VA transitions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
I am a federal employee that was called back on orders for a 5 year period. So I was on ML/LWOP for 5 years. I am struggling to see the benefit of buying this time back. Will it add to my FERS or pension? If it doesn't reduce my retirement date, what is the point?
Has anyone experienced this? Most posts here are from veterans who were not already FED employees buying their time back. I understand the benefit of that one, but my situation falls into a double-dip scenario I believe. Would love to hear from someone who had this same situation and what they did.
Brief background without getting too deep...one of my good friends from my USMC platoon circa 2011/12 has been going through a very rough time. He lives thousands of miles away but we still talked regularly on the phone. His life is in shambles, he got into some legal trouble, and was self medicating to cope. He got hooked on 7oh and couldn't stop despite trying and me doing the best I could to encourage him. He had court approaching (DUI related) and was convinced he was going to prison and told me he was going to kill himself instead of getting locked up. I kept trying to talk him down but he wouldn't listen and kept mentioning killing himself. I ended up calling the hotline on him after we hung up. He sent me a long text basically blowing up on me telling me to fuck off after he got off the phone with them, convinced that they were going to come retain him and put in a psych ward because of the phone call I made. I always assumed the hotline was just a friendly voice/therapist that would talk to you over the phone. I figured it was just the drugs talking when he blew up on me but it has me curious, do they retain people and get law enforcement involved? I didn't give the hotline a ton of info other than he's facing legal trouble for alcohol related charges and that I was worried about him. I didn't have anyone else to call and feel like I betrayed him because I know that's how he feels. It's been a couple months since we talked, I'm not sure if he's in jail or what's going on
This is not a post coming from an addict, rather from someone in constant pain which sometimes flairs so badly I can’t function.
Is there something in the VHA handbook which restricts VA Physicians from prescribing opiates? Before you fly off the handle, hear me out.
I have a service connected head injury which makes me wake up in pain daily. I suffer from migraines almost daily but can control it with the help of caffeinated drinks. If it gets bad, I’ll take OTC pain relief or my prescribed migraine meds. I also receive Botox every quarter and have been managing this pain for decades. When it gets really, really bad, to the point I’m unable to function and have to lay down, sometimes this works, but usually not. I’ve asked my VA Neurologist, Pain, and Mental Health providers to prescribe me a pain killer; one pill; because it has worked for me before I was in the VA system. When I took it before, just one time; it was like it reset my body. They all refused. Is there a policy which restricts these Physicians to help with these type of prescriptions? I don’t have a history of drug abuse, especially opiates, nor have I ever asked any VA providers before. I work, I’m visibly not addicted nor appear under the influence. I get the hesitancy with opiates based on the national crisis but it seems like my VA docs, instead of being selective, have opted to not prescribe anything which can get them flagged. Am I reading this right? I understand the addiction issue, I’ve seen it with my own eyes on family. But there has been zero history for me, anywhere. One pill. Just one. And I’ve never asked before.
Can anyone point me to a regulation or reason why my VA Docs are refusing this? They all say they don’t prescribe opiates. And my VA PCP tells me to ask them, so it doesn’t seem as if they’re being restricted or he would have told me the VA doesn’t prescribe those meds.
Can anyone help me understand the logic? I thought they were supposed to help us.
I was medically retired about 5 years ago and just learned about CRSC. I saw that it needs to be related to combat or hazardous duties.
Mine are both from combat AND airborne injuries but the army on our processing marked them no.
What can I do to fight this and correct it
I have to prove my ability to work while 100% or my loans don’t get forgiven anymore. TBH it sounds like a good way to get your disability reexamined.
I feel like I’m being smart about it and I’ll just go public. I only have two semesters left.
I am wondering if anyone here has actually sued the VA because they made a condition worse. How did it play out, and was it difficult to find someone willing to help?
Thanks
Hello,
Does anybody know of any cool work study positions that aren’t really known about? I saw that veterans can work in any local VA office, clinic, hospital, or a VA cemetery. Just curious if there were cool things I could do a work study in For example outdoor adventure industry? I read a veteran did a work study in the physical therapy department.
Hey everyone! I'm a rising sophomore in college and my father spent 29 and a half years in the Navy. He maxed out the GI bill and also is a disabled veteran who toured in Desert Storm and is now retired. Because of this, we were expecting to have full GI Bill benefits to get me through all four years of college. When we began applying for a transfer of benefits (he originally used some of it for his college), we found that he, for some reason, didn't have permission to transfer these benefits to me. After consulting our local Congresswoman and reading into our rejection letters, we discovered that someone messed up some kind of paperwork years ago when my father went through his retirement process. Our Congresswoman said that she faced the same issue as us, so she contacted the Department of the Navy to see what they could do. They said that we were out of luck.
As a student, I hate to see my family paying for college out of pocket because we were planning on having it fully paid for. Has anybody been in a similar situation, and if so, what did you do? Should I find a lawyer to fight for some kind of compensation? Should we try contacting other departments?
I'm truly at a loss for what I should do and my parents seem to have given up hope, so any help is truly appreciated!
I am needing advice on what steps to take in order to receive the name brand Adderall, or generic form TEVA instead of the generic form I am currently taking which is mallinckrodt. I am having side effects from it which are: headaches, irritability, some anxiousness, sweating, went back to excessively chewing and peeling skin off the inside of my cheek, and have bad brain fog. I gave it 3 weeks to see if it just needed time to work, but this is not fun. My psychiatrist placed a non formulary drug request form in for it, and stated on there that this medication wasn't working for me and that my focus wasn't improving while being on it. The pharmacy denied it with the reply of, "name brand is not available since generic form is." or something along those lines.
I then spoke to my drs nurse and he let me know that their hands were tied and that I would have to keep taking this one generic form, or go through my civ side provider to get TEVA or name brand. My civ side insurance is $300 per month, and i'd really like to cancel it due to being a single mom so every dollar saved when possible is the best outcome right now. I called the pharmacy number yesterday to see what I could do on my end, and they stated that the pharmacist that denied the med change would call me to discuss reason for denial. No call from them, so I called just now and the woman said they'd send another message back but also sent it to my Dr. Dr. called me to let me know that again, his hands were tied and he was sorry that he couldn't help more. I feel horrible that they contacted him AGAIN for this issue since he's a great psychiatrist who genuinely seems like he cares, and I don't want him thinking I'm being difficult. (maybe I am, and if so.. then I am deeply sorry!)
I am at a loss now. At this point I'm guessing I need to speak to a patient advocate? Or keep attempting to speak to the person who denied it, and show them proof that the VA diagnosed me with ADHD on top of other mental diagnoses? I hate being this person, but I genuinely need Adderall to properly function day to day, and these past two weeks have not been great at work, at home with doing tasks, or being an attentive and calm mom that my child deserves.
I'm so sorry for the rant on here, but i feel like I have nowhere else to turn other than to other veterans who use the VA system for their controlled meds. Hopefully someone on here will have advice on this topic. Thanks for taking the time to read!
Hello, found this group looking for help on the internet, lost and confused so here goes.
in early 2025 my father was diagnosed though his yearly blood work at the local VA to have abnormalities. upon further Blood only testing the he was found to have hairy cell leukemia. now, this doctor was the head of the department and the region so they're the big deal. the family was told this was a wait and see cancer. when your spleen gets a little tinder you come in get some easy chemo, in/out done remission come back in ten years its the best stuff you could have hoped to get. dad being dad a marine and a fire fighter for 27 years ya trusted the doctors. so 9-1/2 month later spleen hurts he calls appt is a month out. week later he falls due to anemia, she orders him in emergency get the chemo done now. no test, just chemo.
it was a week of hospitalized chemo treatments 2 hours each 5 treatments. they send him home cause he looks good, 3 days later he has a fever over normal, whole body rash, every side effect on the damn list for the chemo, but it can happen, so to the er we go. they freak out, get the "apparently towns best oncologist" and were talking to him and we tell him what's going on and he calms every 1 down till he ask us if he can get the bone marrow biopsy confirmation for the cancer since he had the chemo, and were all just staring at him bewildered like what?
so leaving more story out after getting a bone marrow biopsy, he dose not have nor ever had "in the results written as such" hairy cell leukemia he instead has multiple myeloma.
the chemo he as just gotten has fried everything he needed to fight off the cancer he has and not only that but, the treatment needed to be started immediately after being found.
when we found this out we gave my father the choice to fight, as they gave him 2 weeks to live, he said yes. we visited him and took his dog up to see him too occasionally for 3 months as he got transfusions every 3 days to survive while they gave him the right keno when he was strong enough till he knew it was the end and he wanted to be at home where he died.
the VA has refused to take any responsibility. at this point my mother may not even get that. we've jumped through Vos's vof's talked to layers no one wants to touch us with a ten foot pole.
at the end my fathers only wish was for my mother to be taken care of and thats what im trying to do, but if i can help another person not go through the same thing my father did that would be enough for me.
any suggestions on what to do from here.
we live in Palm Bay Fl My father Is A MARINE and a retired firefighter
Let’s get straight to the facts on how your medical evidence is actually gathered. There is a lot of confusion regarding how the VA views your files, so here is the reality from the rating floor.
When you claim VAMC treatment, we don't just wait for a file to be sent to us. We actively pull your records, and how we do it depends on where your local hospital is in the VA's current software transition. We rely heavily on CAPRI and JLV to get the job done.
CAPRI (Compensation and Pension Record Interchange) Dinosaurs VAMC Database
This is our direct portal into VistA/CPRS, the legacy VA medical record system. It is an older, text-heavy system, but it is highly effective. If your VAMC has not transitioned to the new EHR yet, this is where we find your progress notes, surgical reports, lab results, and VA-completed DBQss. We aren't just looking for a diagnosis here; we are reading your provider’s notes to determine the functional impact of your condition. If your doctor documents your specific physical limitations, CAPRI is where we see it.
The New Federal EHR (Oracle Cerner)
The VA is in the middle of a massive rollout of a new Electronic Health Record (EHR) to replace the old VistA system. Right now, only a handful of VAMCs and clinics are live on this new Oracle Cerner system. The problem? The old system (CAPRI) and the new EHR don't speak to each other perfectly. If you are treated at a facility using the new EHR, we cannot easily pull those specific notes through our standard CAPRI interface. That is where JLV comes in.
JLV (Joint Longitudinal Viewer)
JLV is the critical bridge. Because some hospitals are on the old system and some are on the new EHR, we need JLV to pull everything into one unified view. It grabs your DoD service records, your standard VistA records, the new Oracle EHR data, and community care records (if that hospital shares data with the VA network). We use JLV to run queries and filter through years of data, tracking your treatment over time regardless of which software your hospital is using.
How to bulletproof your claim:
We want to find the evidence to grant your claim. But when you just write "treated at the VA," it triggers a manual search through thousands of pages across CAPRI, JLV, and the new EHR.
When an RVSR has to filter through a massive, unorganized data dump from multiple databases, the risk of a crucial doctor's note getting buried or overlooked by the system goes up. The software is clunky, and data sometimes doesn't cross over perfectly.
Don't leave your evidence to chance. Give us the map.
If you give us the exact facility, clinic, and timeframe"Treated at Chicago VAMC, Physical Therapy, Jan-March 2025"we can bypass the data dump. We go straight to the target, pull those exact notes, verify the evidence, and rate your claim accurately. The more precise you are, the less room there is for the system to fail you.
Im being treated at the VA for a few conditions. This whole thing has been a painful and frustrating experience.
Fortunately, I’ve been able to see specialist out in the community who are doing a great job helping me. I’m still working on getting some of my records over to them, even though the VA says they have a system that makes them visible to outside providers.
I went to myhealthevet to print off what I could and I noticed that none of the records have the same diagnosis information anymore. None except the follow up from my pcm after the hospital admission.
I know they diagnosed me on paper because I had extensive testing done to validate the diagnosis. I had a lumbar puncture done twice during my stay and the most I see is a chart with numbers. Before, there was a whole copy and pasted type work up with reasoning and results. I also have the discharge paperwork that states what I was discharged for very clearly. The digital note says, “Discharged for headache”. The paperwork that I have in hand says that I was discharged for psudotumor on my brain.
Are they changing the notes?? The wording and notes are really important because they affect the paper trail to service connection.
Hi All. Navy veteran, 1991-1995 and 1999-2001 with a few years of active reserves from 2001 - 2004.
I am curious if anyone has submitted a Fully Developed Claim (FDC) lately and if so, what their turn time was on the claim? I know it can all depend on several variables, but I am curious about the average timeframe. I submitted nexus letters from my long-time private PCP for 4 of 9 conditions, as well as 2 solid lay statements that cover the time from when I got out, 1995 up to today. I am going to assume I will be doing C&P exams for most if not all conditions. I am currently rated for Tinnitus only, and only 1 condition is considered secondary to that, the others are direct or secondary to new conditions if connected.
Thanks for any information you can provide on those timeframes, I appreciate it!!
