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VA Mistakenly Tells Vets They Have Fatal Illness

Posted by samzenpus on from the experiencing-technical-difficulty dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Thanks to a computer glitch and bad diagnosis coding, the VA sent a letter to thousands of veterans telling them they have Lou Gehrig's Disease. Some were right, but many were mistakes. From the article, 'Recently, the VA determined ALS to be a service-connected disability and generated automatic letters to all veterans whose records included the code for the disease. However, since the coding contained both ALS and undiagnosed neurological disorders, some of those letters were erroneous.'"

18 of 108 comments (clear)

  1. hate when that happens... by iamagloworm · · Score: 2, Insightful

    next time, face to face is a good idea...

    1. Re:hate when that happens... by geekoid · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Since the VA system regularly outscores private medical organizations, maybe you should stop spreading your ignorance?

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  2. The VA would like to apologize for any.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Any jobs declined, life and health insurance policies refused and suicides.

    1. Re:The VA would like to apologize for any.. by stoolpigeon · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Satisfaction surveys are not necessarily the best metric to use in determining quality of care. I think this has been shown in a few studies and many health care providers have tried to move to metrics that more accurately tell if care is actually good or not. I don't bring this up to enter into your argument about socialized medicine but just to try and look at the whole picture.
       
      More importantly, your point about it being free couldn't be more mistaken. For the vets it either cost becoming disabled or a minimum of 20 years of full time service. The monetary costs are covered by tax payers. as RAH would say tanstaafl - there aint no such thing as a free lunch.

      --
      It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
  3. Not amusing by Max+Romantschuk · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ALS is basically a slow and unpleasant death sentence unless you are lucky and can afford proper care. You really don't want to be told you have something that will lock your working brain into your body until you suffocate without a breathing apparatus.

    I'm perfectly aware many people can live for ages with ALS, but a significant portion aren't as lucky...

    --
    .: Max Romantschuk :: http://max.romantschuk.fi/
    1. Re:Not amusing by mc6809e · · Score: 4, Insightful

      ALS is basically a slow and unpleasant death sentence unless you are lucky and can afford proper care.

      It's still horrible, even if you're lucky. There are so many "better" fatal diseases I'd rather have.

      And unfortunately there really isn't a lot of public research being done to find a cure. A great deal of medical research is driven by politics and popularity, and ALS just doesn't get the attention it deserves. The cynic in me believes that the lack of research dollars is due to the short average expected lifespan after diagnosis -- those with ALS just aren't around long enough to make enough noise to get the attention needed to boost funding and research interest.

  4. Re:it happens, by fractoid · · Score: 1, Insightful

    If I got a random letter saying I had a fatal neurological condition, I'd be slightly sceptical. Maybe that's just me though.

    --
    Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
  5. Re:it happens, by mc6809e · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If I got a random letter saying I had a fatal neurological condition, I'd be slightly sceptical. Maybe that's just me though.

    Yeah, but these aren't random letters. These are letters from the government. The VA is basically the government health care system for veterans.

    If they sent me a letter, I'd think I'd take it seriously.

  6. Re:it happens, by mpoulton · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If I got a random letter saying I had a fatal neurological condition, I'd be slightly sceptical. Maybe that's just me though.

    Except these patients already had "undiagnosed neurological conditions". If you had neurological problems, were seeking a diagnosis, had been evaluated inconclusively before, and received a notice from your hospital that you have ALS, you might be less skeptical and more devastated.

    --
    I am a geek attorney, but not your geek attorney unless you've already retained me. This is not legal advice.
  7. Even better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It'll be awesome when all of our health care is, by law, just as efficient and personal.

  8. Awww by dkf · · Score: 3, Insightful

    There I was, looking for a story about veterinarians in Virginia...

    --
    "Little does he know, but there is no 'I' in 'Idiot'!"
  9. Re:it happens, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Point. In my experience, though, generally they like to give out "you're going to die" type news in person. Hell, even the results of a standard blood test require you to go in and pay the standard consultation tax.

    Oh, really? This is a government bureaucracy we're talking about.

    THIS is what we'd ALL get if Obama and the Dems win their attempt to have a government takeover of health care.

  10. Very low accuracy mailing... by geomobile · · Score: 3, Insightful
    I loved that phrase:

    Some were right but many were mistakes.

    Government should just mail an official looking letter to everybody:
    Dear XY,
    You are not suffering from any fatal neurological conditions.
    Regards.
    This would vastly increase the accuracy of the mailing and would also be better for the general mood.

    --
    What I do for a living: Build a GPS mobile game
    1. Re:Very low accuracy mailing... by geomobile · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You are most likely not suffering from any fatal neurological conditions.

      Telling everybody that they're most probably healthy is not as good... it improves the accuracy of the mail even further without having the same valuable positive effect on the mood.
      Why sacrifice the positive effect on mood for that little extra accuracy? You'll probably only send out a fraction of a percent false negatives, when you tell everybody that they don't have a fatal neurological condition!

      --
      What I do for a living: Build a GPS mobile game
  11. Re:it happens, by Sebilrazen · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Shenanigans.

    So you're all up in arms about it, good for you. But instead of offering a solution, or saying something good like "This isn't how we should treat our veterans," you instead decide to lambaste a proposed program that I'll admit is a bit socialist.

    Given your attitude I expect you to return any social security payments you receive and decline any medicare coverage. While you're at it, stop driving on my roads and don't call emergency services when you need them.

    --
    "There are no facts, only interpretations." --Friedrich Nietzsche.
  12. Do tyou know the difference between by geekoid · · Score: 3, Insightful

    this and a private medical company?
    You find out about the error when a government agency does it.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  13. Re:it happens, by Stupendoussteve · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Welcome to universal healthcare. Don't worry, you too will soon be able to get the news of your imminent death via phone, email, or text message.

    Also, I hope you like vitamin M (that is, Motrin).

  14. Re:it happens, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I much prefer corporate bureaucracy. It's so transparent. This would never happen with private insurance.

    This stupendously bad government health care system only has to serve 23,000,000 patients and it managed to screw up 1200 whole notifications. What self respecting corporate entity would tolerate a 0.00521% failure rate. You're much better off with a private system where mistakes never happen and would certainly be widely publicized if they did.