Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mistakes By Physicians, Technical Problems Led To Nearly 2,000 CT Scans Being Left Unread At Walter Reed
The Wall Street Journal: Walter Reed Failed To Examine Almost 2,000 CT Scans
Nearly 2,000 radiology scans went unread for several years at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, leading to at least one documented delay in treatment and one physician fearing hundreds more, according to an internal investigation. A combination of faulty processes, oversights by physicians, technical snafus and a radiologist’s overwork led to a backlog of 1,300 unread Cone Beam Computed Tomography scans of patients’ faces and jaws from 2011 to 2016 at the Navy’s postgraduate dental school, according to the investigation, which was completed in August and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. (Kesling, 11/23)
Meanwhile, in veterans health care news —
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Continuing Problems At Atlanta VA Hospital Slow Services To Vets
The troubled Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center continues to run at diminished capacity after shutting down operating rooms in late September for all but emergency surgery, say people familiar with the matter. Some days as many as four of the nine operating rooms are still not functioning and full capacity is not scheduled to be restored through at least February at the largest hospital in the Southeast for military veterans, according to internal VA emails reviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. (Quinn, 11/22)
NH Times Union: Survey: Many NH Vets Still Struggle With PTSD, TBI
New Hampshire is doing a better job of caring for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injuries, but “the mission is far from complete. ”That’s the conclusion of a new report from the NH Commission on PTSD and TBI, which was presented Friday to the Health and Human Services Oversight Committee. The commission compiled results and recommendations from a survey of 913 veterans conducted in 2017, and compared their responses to a similar survey done five years earlier. (Wickham, 11/23)
