Why GAO Did This Study
This statement discusses overcoming barriers for quality mental health care for veterans — particularly those who are returning from deployment. In 2011, GAO reported that the number of veterans receiving mental health care had increased each year from fiscal year 2006 to 2010, and veterans who served in Afghanistan and Iraq accounted for an increasing proportion of veterans receiving mental health care during this period. GAO also reported on the key barriers that may hinder veterans from accessing mental health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which included difficulty scheduling appointments. More recently, in December 2012, GAO reported on problems with VA's oversight of outpatient medical appointment scheduling processes and measurement of outpatient medical appointment wait times.
This statement highlights key findings from our December 2012 report that describes needed improvements in the reliability of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA's) reported medical appointment wait times, scheduling oversight, and VHA initiatives to improve access to timely medical appointments.
GAO-13-363T, Feb 13, 2013;
For more information, please contact Debra A. Draper at (202) 512-7114 or draperd@gao.gov.
Additional News: VA Hires More Mental Health Professionals to Expand Access for Veterans - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on February 11th announced that it has made significant progress in providing increased access to mental health care services for our Nation’s Veterans by hiring new mental health professionals. Last year, Secretary Eric K. Shinseki announced a goal to hire 1,600 new mental health clinical providers and 300 administrative support staff. The President’s Aug. 31, 2012, Executive Order requires the positions to be filled by June 30, 2013. As of Jan. 29, VA has hired 1,058 mental health clinical providers and 223 administrative support staff in support of this specific goal. (2/11/13)
Editor's Note: We recently discovered that a fellow Vietnam veteran friend of our husband's died from complications from his rare frontal-temporal lobe dementia. When his autopsy was done, there were signs of Agent Orange in his brain. Jeffrey was stationed at Cam Ranh Bay.
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