VA Announces Aggressive New Approach to Produce Rapid Improvements in VA Medical Centers

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced steps that it is taking as part of an aggressive new approach to produce rapid improvements at VA’s low-performing medical facilities nationwide (1). VA defines its low-performing facilities as those medical centers that receive the lowest score in its Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning (SAIL) star rating system, or a one-star rating out of five. The SAIL star rating was initiated in 2016 and uses a variety of measures including mortality, length of hospital stay, readmission rates, hospital complications, physician productivity and efficiency. A complete listing of the VA facilities, their star ratings and the metrics used to determine the ratings is available through the end of fiscal year 2017 (2). Based on the latest ratings, the VA currently has 15 one-star facilities including Denver, Loma Linda, and Phoenix in the Southwest (Table 1).  

Table 1. VA facilities with one-star ratings (1).

1. Big Spring (Texas)
2. Denver (Colorado)
3. Dublin (Georgia)
4. El Paso (Texas)
5. Jackson, (Mississippi)
6. Hampton (Virginia)
7. Harlingen (Texas)
8. Loma Linda (California)
9. Memphis (Tennessee)
10. Murfreesboro (Tennessee)
11. Nashville (Tennessee)
12. Phoenix (Arizona)
13. Roseburg (Oregon)
14. Walla Walla (Washington).
15. Washington (DC)

The steps VA is taking to produce rapid improvements at its low-performing facilities include (Table 2):

Table 2. VA steps to produce rapid improvements at low-performing facilities (1).

1. Central, national accountable leadership – VA has designated Dr. Peter Almenoff, Director of VA’s Office of Reporting, Analytics, Performance, Improvement and Deployment (RAPID) Healthcare Improvement Center, to oversee improvement at each of the centers.
2. Comprehensive analysis and identification of improvement targets – VA is employing a new initiative, known as Strategic Action Transformation (STAT), that uses a rigorous and formal approach based on clinical performance indicators to identify vulnerabilities in each low-performing facility and set specific targets for improvement.
3. Provision of national resources for improvement – VA’s RAPID team of experts will use sophisticated statistical tools to track the progress of improvement against these targets, and, where warranted, will dispatch a team of expert improvement coaches quickly to the medical centers to assist them in meeting the goals.
4. Accountability for results –VA’s Central Office will review each of the facilities quarterly, and if the facilities fail to make rapid substantial progress in their improvement plan, VA leadership will take prompt action, including changing the leadership of the medical center.

VA secretary David Shulkin stated that “President Trump has made it clear that our Veterans deserve only the best when it comes to their healthcare, and that’s why we are focusing on improving our lowest performing facilities nationwide” (1). The VA recently removed the Roseburg Oregon VA Medical Center director who was accused of manipulating hospital admissions to improve the hospital’s rating (3). Almenoff, the overseer of improvement, was transferred from his position as the VA Integrated Network 15 director in 2008 when the Marion VA came under fire for substandard care raising concerns from several Illinois legislators, including the then junior senator from Illinois, Barack Obama (4).

A major hurdle will be for the VA to hire sufficient staff to improve care. As of the end of June, the VA reported 35,554 job vacancies system-wide, and VA Secretary David Shulkin has cited challenges with hiring doctors and nurses, particularly mental health care professionals (5). The agency set a goal to hire 1,000 mental health care workers in 2017. The VA hired 900 last year, but lost 945. The Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 appropriated several billion dollars to the VA but this apparently did not lead to hiring of sufficient healthcare providers.

Richard A. Robbins, MD

Editor, SWJPCC

References

1. VA Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. VA announces aggressive new approach for low-performing medical centers. February 1, 2018. Available at: https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=4004 (accessed 2/14/18).
2. US Department of Veterans Affairs. Quality care. Available at: https://www.va.gov/QUALITYOFCARE/measure-up/Strategic_Analytics_for_Improvement_and_Learning_SAIL.asp (accessed 2/14/18).
3. Phillips D. Director of veterans hospital accused of manipulating ratings is replaced. New York Times. February 1, 2018. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/01/us/veterans-roseburg-director.html (accessed 2/14/18).
4. Durbin D, Obama B, Costello J, Shimkus J. Letter to The Honorable James B. Peake, M.D., Secretary of Veterans' Affairs. July 23, 2008. Available at: https://votesmart.org/public-statement/363179/letter-to-the-honorable-james-b-peake-md-secretary-of-veterans-affairs?flavour=mobile&utm_source=votesmart&utm_medium=mobile-link&utm_campaign=flavourswitch#.WoR3Dq6nGUk (accessed 2/14/18).
5. Wentling N. Federal unions march on VA headquarters to protest staffing shortages. Stars and Stripes. February 13, 2018. Available at: https://www.stripes.com/federal-unions-march-on-va-headquarters-to-protest-staffing-shortages-1.511543 (accessed 2/14/18).

Cite as: Robbins RA. VA announces aggressive new approach to produce rapid improvements in VA medical centers. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2018;16(2):91-3. doi: https://doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc034-18 PDF

Hospitals Plan to Start Their Own Generic Drug Company

The New York Times reports that groups representing more than 450 hospitals plan to form their own generic drug company (1). Intermountain Healthcare is leading the collaboration with several other large hospital groups, Ascension, SSM Health and Trinity Health, in consultation with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, to form a not-for-profit drug company. The new firm is looking to create generic versions of about 20 existing drugs that the group says cost too much now or are in short supply. The article did not name the drugs targeted but expects the first of its pharmaceutical products to become available in 2019. Members of the consortium will contribute funds to finance the new drug company.

Richard A. Robbins, MD

Editor, SWJPCC

Reference

1. Abelson R, Thomas K. Fed up with drug companies, hospitals decide to start their own. New York Times. January 18, 2018. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/18/health/drug-prices-hospitals.html (accessed 1/19/18).

Cite as: Robbins RA. Hospitals plan to start their own generic drug company. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2018;16(1):48. doi: https://doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc014-18 PDF

Rating the VA Hospitals

USA Today is listing the star rating system for the Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers based on the quality of care. The website has a link that allows searches for individual medical centers. The ratings have been done for years but the VA has refused to release the ratings saying they are meant for internal use only.

The top-rated hospitals received a 5 and the lowest a 1. According to the star ratings the best hospitals are in the Northeast and upper Midwest.  In the Southwest the ratings are not so good with the top-rated hospital Palo Alto and the lowest a tie between Phoenix and Albuquerque (Table 1).

Table 1. Southwest VA medical center star compare VA hospitals ratings.

Quality can be difficult to measure and it is not clear what metrics were used in the VA ratings. For this reason, the VA star ratings were compared to another hospital rating service Compare VA Hospitals (2). This scale uses a 1-100 scale with 100 being the best. In this scale the Palo Alto turned out to be the best in the country with Phoenix and the VA being more in the middle of the pack. There was no correlation between the ratings (r=0.2386, p>0.05). This is consistent with a previous publication in the SWJPCC which showed no or little correlation between the various hospital ratings.

The lack of correlation between rankings and not knowing the metrics which determine the rankings suggest that the VA is right, the rankings should remain for an internal use rather than adding to the confusion already generated by the various hospital rankings.

Richard A. Robbins, MD

Editor, SWJPCC

References

1. Slack D. Exclusive: Internal documents detail secret VA quality ratings. USA Today. December 7, 2016. Available at: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/12/07/internal-report-details-secret-quality-ratings-veterans/94811922/ (accessed 12/14/16).
2. Health Grove by Graphiq. Compare VA hospitals. Available at: http://va-hospitals.healthgrove.com/ (accessed 12/14/16).
3. Robbins RA, Gerkin RD. A comparison between hospital rankings and outcomes data. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2013;7(3):196-203. [CrossRef]

Cite as: Robbins RA. Rating the VA hospitals. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2016;13(6):309-10. doi: https://doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc138-16 PDF 

Trump Proposes Initial Healthcare Agenda

On Friday, November 11, President-elect Trump proposed a healthcare agenda on his website greatagain.gov (1). Yesterday, November 12, he gave an interview on 60 Minutes clarifying his positions (2). Trump said that he wanted to focus on healthcare and has proposed to:

• Repeal all of the Affordable Care Act;
• Allow the sale of health insurance across state lines;
• Make the purchase of health insurance fully tax deductible;
• Expand access to the health savings accounts;
• Increase price transparency;
• Block grant Medicaid;
• Lower entrance barriers to new producers of drugs.

In his 60 Minutes interview Trump reiterated that two provisions of the ACA – prohibition of pre-existing conditions exclusion and ability for adult children to stay on parents insurance plans until age 26 – have his support (2). Other aspects of the ACA that might receive his support were not discussed.

On the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Trump proposed to make the VA great again by removing corrupt and incompetent individuals who let our veterans down (1).  The website goes on to say that only honest and dedicated public servants in the VA have their jobs protected, and will be put in line for promotions.

Several aspects of healthcare were not addressed. Universal healthcare which Trump has supported in the past was not discussed (3). Trump did not make major policy proposals for Medicare during the campaign and Medicare was not addressed on his website or during his interview.

According to a survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation the top three healthcare issues concerning voters were:

• Ensuring that high-cost drugs for chronic conditions such as hepatitis and cancer become affordable;
• Lowering prescription drug costs in general;
• Making sure health plans have enough physicians and hospitals in their networks (4).

None were addressed on Trump's website or during his interview.

Richard A. Robbins, MD

Editor, SWJPCC

References

1. https://www.greatagain.gov/policy/healthcare.html (accessed 11/14/16).
2. CBS News. President-elect Trump speaks to a divided country on 60 Minutes. November 13, 2016. Available at: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-donald-trump-family-melania-ivanka-lesley-stahl/ (accessed 11/14/16).
3. CBS News. Trump gets down to business on 60 Minutes. September 27, 2015. Available at: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-60-minutes-scott-pelley/
4. Kirzinger A, Sugarman E, Brodie M. Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: October 2016. Available at: http://kff.org/health-costs/poll-finding/kaiser-health-tracking-poll-october-2016/ (accessed 11/14/16). 

Cite as: Robbins RA. Trump proposes initial healthcare agenda. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2016;13(5):240-1. doi: https://doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc117-16 PDF 

2014's Top Southwest Medical Stories

The end of the year has traditionally been a time to reflect on the top stories of the year. Here's our list of the top local medical stories.

1. VA scandal

Phoenix was the epicenter of the VA scandal but Albuquerque and the Greeley, Colorado clinic also figured prominently in the falsification of patient wait lists. Investigations revealed that at least 70% of the VA hospitals falsified records leading to the resignation of VA secretary, Eric Shinseki, and his under secretary for health, Dr. Robert Petzel. Eventually the director of the Phoenix VA, Sharon Helman, was fired-not for the falsification of medical records but for taking inappropriate gifts. However, most of the directors of the VA hospitals that falsified data remain untouched, still receiving their bonuses. Similarly, the politicians, the inspector general and those in the VA central office whose job was to provide oversight remain unscathed. On the bright side, the scandal did result in a modest influx of monies which hopefully will be spent on patient care rather than administrative bonuses.

2. Ebola outbreak

This seems a bit odd for a local news story but the Ebola epidemic in Africa did impact locally. The outbreak was largely ignored by the American public until a patient and several healthcare workers became infected in the US. Politicians and healthcare administrators seized the opportunity to hype the hysteria and insist on training of healthcare workers. One Arizona Thoracic Society meeting was cancelled because a nursing service needed the room to do "Ebola training". As Peter Sagal said on "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" there have been more Americans married to Larry King that infected with Ebola illustrating the hysteria and resultant overreaction. This year's true medical heroes are the thousands of physicians and nurses who worked on the frontlines of the Ebola crisis in Africa at tremendous personal risk and despite chaotic conditions, underequipped facilities, and overwhelmed local health systems. In contrast to the politicians and healthcare administrators, Anthony Fauci has consistently offered reasonable recommendations and insight based on science.

3. Banner Health, University of Arizona Health Network merger

In June, the Banner Health and University of Arizona Health Network (UAHN) began negotiations to merge with Banner absorbing UAHN's $146 million debt. Banner promised to spend at least $500 million toward capital projects in the next five years and pay $300 million to establish an academic endowment. The deal is to be completed about the end of January, 2015. Mergers between the private and public health sectors have been a mixed bag and this one warrants close watching.

4. Meaningful use

Many physicians suspected that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) meaningful use was little more than a scheme to have physicians perform useless clerical tasks. When they were not done, payment would be denied. At the end of 2014 this appears to be true. There remains no data that the meaningful use is "using certified electronic health record (EHR) technology to: Improve quality, safety, efficiency, and reduce health disparities" as intended. About 257,000 physicians will receive a 1% reduction in reimbursement in 2015.

5. Reduction in CMS hospital payments

Despite the lack of data that CMS' value-based healthcare program is doing much to benefit patients and some data that performance of the measures has been associated with adverse outcomes, CMS continues to reduce hospital payments because of hospital-acquired conditions and high readmission rates. We initially reported on this in June, 2013. We are not advocating for hospital-acquired infections or readmissions, but are advocating for measures that improve patient outcomes. Despite a phone call assuring us that CMS would look into it, nothing has seemed to change. Furthermore, much of the data is self-reported by the hospitals. As the VA scandal illustrates, self-reported data is not always reliable especially when money is involved.

6. Congress again fails to pass SGR fix

Congress passed a budget but failed to fix the widely hated sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula for physician reimbursement under Medicare. Also missing was an extension of the current pay bump for primary care. SGR has been present since 1997 and the one of the few things the politicians seem to come together on is not paying physicians, especially primary care physicians, a decent living wage.

Richard A. Robbins, MD

Editor

Southwest Journal of Pulmonary and Critical Care

Reference as: Robbins RA. 2014's top southwest medical stories. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2014;9(6):350-1. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc167-14 PDF

VA Office of Inspector General Releases Scathing Report of Phoenix VA

The long-awaited Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) report on the Phoenix VA Health Care System (PVAHCS) was released on August 27, 2014 (1). The report was scathing in its evaluation of VA practices and leadership. Five questions were investigated:

1. Were there clinically significant delays in care?
2. Did PVAHCS omit the names of veterans waiting for care from its Electronic Wait List (EWL)?
3. Were PVAHCS personnel not following established scheduling procedures?
4. Did the PVAHCS culture emphasize goals at the expense of patient care?
5. Are scheduling deficiencies systemic throughout the VA?

In each case, the OIG found that the allegations were true. Despite initial denials, the OIG report showed that former PVAHCS director Sharon Helman, associate director Lance Robinson, hospital administration director Brad Curry, chief of staff Darren Deering and other senior executives were aware of delays in care and unofficial wait lists.

Perhaps most disturbing is the OIG finding that scheduling deficiencies are systemic throughout the VA. The OIG is currently investigating 90 VA facilities. The findings prompted Rep. Jeff Miller, House Veterans’ Affairs Committee chairman to comment “We have seen no evidence that the corrupt bureaucrats who created the VA scandal will be purged from the department’s payroll anytime soon. Until that happens, VA will never be fixed,” (2).

Though whistleblowers alleged veterans died while awaiting care in Phoenix, acting Inspector General Richard Griffin did not draw any conclusions about criminal culpability and declared that he was “unable to conclusively assert that the absence of timely quality care caused the deaths of these veterans.” Phoenix whistleblowers Drs. Sam Foote and Katherine Mitchell, said the OIG standard made no sense because 45 examples described in the OIG report showed that delayed care likely resulted in premature deaths or harm to patients’ quality of life. It is the later standard that is usually applied to physicians.

The day prior to the release of the report the Deputy VA Secretary Sloan Gibson was interviewed noting that more veterans are being sent to private doctors for care reducing waiting times (3). "The fundamental point here is, we are taking bold and decisive action to fix these problems because it's unacceptable," said Gibson. It is unclear whether these reports of improved waiting times are any more reliable than the initial denials of prolonged patient waiting times from both the Phoenix VA and VA Central Office.

Richard A. Robbins, MD

Editor

Southwest Journal of Pulmonary and Critical Care

References

1. Office of VA Inspector General. Review of alleged patient deaths, patient wait times, and scheduling practices at the Phoenix VA health care system. Available at: http://www.va.gov/oig/pubs/VAOIG-14-02603-267.pdf (accessed 8/26/14).
2. Wagner D, Lee M. Scathing VA report stirs outcry for accountability. Arizona Republic. Available at: http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/investigations/2014/08/26/scathing-va-report-stirs-outcry-accountability/14665455/ (accessed 8/27/14).
3. Associated Press. Watchdog report details ‘systemic’ problems at VA facilities. Available at: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/08/26/no-proof-delays-in-care-caused-vets-to-die-va-says/ (accessed 8/25/14). 

Reference as: Robbins RA. VA office of inspector general releases scathing report of Phoenix VA. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2014;9(2):140-1. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc112-14 PDF