Why aren’t newly enrolled US veterans receiving timely care

Systems for accessing health care from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs do not “effectively oversee newly enrolled veterans’ access to primary care,” according to a new US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.

The GAO found that VA scheduling practices often leave veterans seeking primary care from the VHA with weeks- to months-long waits for appointments with the medical agency.

“This report proves what we’ve long known: wait-time manipulation continues at VA and the department’s wait-time rhetoric doesn’t match up with the reality of veterans’ experiences,” said Rep. Jeff Miller (R) of Fla., the Veteran Affairs committee chairman, according to USA Today. “I am not at all surprised these problems persist,” he added.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2016/0419/Why-aren-t-newly-enrolled-US-veterans-receiving-timely-care

 

Senators demand answers about IRS use of secret cellphone tracking systems

 Two top senators are probing use by the Internal Revenue Service of secret cellphone tracking systems that are more often utilized by federal or local law enforcement agencies.

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen admitted this week that the agency does use the technology, known as cell-site simulators, or StingRays. The admission came after a report by The Guardian that indicated the IRS has spent more than $71,000 to upgrade a version of the device and to receive training from a company that manufactures the devices.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/oct/29/irs-use-secret-cellphone-tracking-systems-has-gras/

ROBOTIC SURGICAL SYSTEMS LINKED TO 144 DEATHS, 1,000+ INJURIES IN 14 YEARS

The injuries, many of them fatal, were the result of broken instruments falling into patients’ bodies, electric sparks burning patients’ tissues, and system errors making surgical procedures take longer than planned.

There have even been reports of a robotic hand that wouldn’t let go of tissue grasped during surgery, and a robotic arm smacking a patient in the face as she lay on the operating table.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center, states:

http://www.infowars.com/robotic-surgical-systems-linked-to-144-deaths-1000-injuries-in-14-years/