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My own experiences show that they are incompetent in some areas.
My experiences have been nothing less than stellar. I've had four recent surgeries, two of them to repair nerve damage sustained during the Gulf War. All were successful. My left hand and arm are at 100% and my right hand and arm at 90%, which is as good as it gets.
Since we don't have video of you interacting with your healthcare providers, we really don't know.
Doctors are not mind-readers, knowledge of your illnesses are not imputed and most people don't elucidate their complaints accurately, which can result in a misdiagnosis or a missed diagnosis altogether.
I would never go anywhere else. I know people who wait 3 months to see their private primary care physician, but I generally never wait more than 4-6 weeks, and if you're willing to do things short notice, you can often get ahead through a cancellation.
I had to wait a whole 8 days for my MRI, but they called two days later with a cancellation, and since I lived within walking distance at that time, I just walked on down and got 'er done.
It might come as quite a surprise to you, but each VA hospital is managed by a different director, so they're not all exactly alike, and if you live in an area where the ratio of veterans to facilities is quite, you should expect to wait a little longer for appointments.
My experiences have been nothing less than stellar. I've had four recent surgeries, two of them to repair nerve damage sustained during the Gulf War. All were successful. My left hand and arm are at 100% and my right hand and arm at 90%, which is as good as it gets.
Since we don't have video of you interacting with your healthcare providers, we really don't know.
Doctors are not mind-readers, knowledge of your illnesses are not imputed and most people don't elucidate their complaints accurately, which can result in a misdiagnosis or a missed diagnosis altogether.
I would never go anywhere else. I know people who wait 3 months to see their private primary care physician, but I generally never wait more than 4-6 weeks, and if you're willing to do things short notice, you can often get ahead through a cancellation.
I had to wait a whole 8 days for my MRI, but they called two days later with a cancellation, and since I lived within walking distance at that time, I just walked on down and got 'er done.
It might come as quite a surprise to you, but each VA hospital is managed by a different director, so they're not all exactly alike, and if you live in an area where the ratio of veterans to facilities is quite, you should expect to wait a little longer for appointments.
After all, it is free (at least for some of us).
my experience has been similar to yours..... overall good. I had a scare pissing blood......private insurance would not see me for 2 months...…...Va sent me for an MRI before I got to the initial appointment with private urologist...…...Referrals and other BS involved.
My experiences have been nothing less than stellar. ).
My dads care at the VA has been equal to or better then the public sector.
He is lucky to have both the VA AND full private insurance coverage. In the private sector He only goes to qualified doctors and the better hospitals in the state. The VA has been better then most private doctors and better then in patient care at private hospitals.
One has to be pro-active in their own medical care whether at a public or private hospitals or public or private doctors. There are the VET Centers for help and advice and also each hospital has a patient advocate for help and advice. Assets that should be utilized if needed.
He has switched medical professionals in the private sector and has switched medical professionals at the VA - at times.
Thank God we have the VA medical care. Probably the best in the world.
Keninaz....one problem you have is your location, the Prescott CBOC, is a satellite clinic that uses the Phoenix VA Hospital for major care....we all remember what caused that hospital to be in the news some years back.
My experience with the Tucson VA was the exact opposite of Phoenix....nothing but praise for Tucson. My clinic was the Yuma CBOC, which most often was without a Physician, or just had them rotate in from other areas on something like TDY status...seemed none of them wanted to be in Yuma for long.....go figure.
The VA does pay their Physicians well... look usajobs.com...I've seen a range of $103K to $250K, not too bad for someone who works 9 - 4:30, 5 days a week, no call or weekends...for someone else. Look at the openings for Phoenix...only 2 available....for Physician Assistants. Every VA facility needs more staff, much more, but the VA is being hobbled by budget concerns and poor leadership to the detriment of Veterans.
As for knowledge, you know the old saying...."what do you call the person who graduated at the bottom of the class...."Doctor".
The same goes for Nurses and Nurse Practitioners. Expertise comes with experience. Every facility, public or government is capable of giving less than stellar service...it can depend on who you get to care for you.
My wife had been an RN for over 20 years in the critical care arena, before becoming a Nurse Practitioner...she always said she preferred to serve the Veterans in VA facilities, vs the public in community hospitals...."they had no sense of entitlement and were so appreciative of the care they received". She'd be working for the VA today, if there was a facility within decent commute distance.
The care I receive in my current VA clinic and hospital is good....I appreciate the care, and the caregivers....that has not always been the case.
Location: Unlike most on CD, I'm not afraid to give my location: Milwaukee, WI.
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I like my VA in Milwaukee a lot. They put time and effort into your appointments and your problems. Most of my appointments, whether primary care or a specialist, are a good hour or more long, and they are thorough. No rushing you in and out. All computerized, no paper records or files. Everything about you and your history is right there on their computers and all seems to work efficiently. Of course sometimes there is a bit of a wait at the pharmacy buy if you can wait a day or two you can opt to have the meds mailed to you.
I could give more examples, but mine has been great to me and for little or no cost, even though I am a lower priority vet based on their rating system.
my experience has been similar to yours..... overall good. I had a scare pissing blood......private insurance would not see me for 2 months...…...Va sent me for an MRI before I got to the initial appointment with private urologist...…...Referrals and other BS involved.
I'm not sure I follow you. Your private insurance also practices medicine? For something like that, I'd be at my doctor's or urgent care on the same day, insurance would cover us per our policy.
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