Major Glitch in VA Fax System Puts Veteran Lives at Risk

A critical malfunction in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) fax system has been uncovered, jeopardizing patient safety and disrupting care continuity for potentially millions of veterans. A recently discovered technical glitch in the VA's fax system has resulted in a staggering up to 50% failure rate in receiving vital requests from community care providers, leading to potentially life-threatening delays in healthcare services. Even more alarming is that the VA cannot currently detect, track, or quantify these events.

The issue arises when incoming faxes fail to meet a specific bitrate threshold. In these circumstances, the VA's fax system falsely confirms the receipt of the fax but subsequently erases it without any trace. Consequently, urgent requests for essential medical information, diagnostic tests, and treatment authorizations may never reach the intended recipients within the VA, exposing veterans to significant delays in receiving crucial healthcare services. While there are other means of failure to be addressed, this by far is the largest discovered thus far.

In 2021, a staggering 6.8 million requests were submitted by community care providers nationwide, illustrating the potential loss of an equivalent number of requests due to this glitch. This failure has far-reaching implications, contributing to delayed diagnoses, potential treatment errors, and overall disparities in the quality of care provided to veterans.

Key Findings

• Technical Glitch: The VA's fax system erroneously confirms receipt of faxes that fail to meet bitrate thresholds, then deletes them without record.
• Estimated Impact: An estimated 50% of requests from community care providers may not reach the VA, potentially affecting millions of veterans.
• Patient Safety Risks: Communication delays can result in critical patient safety issues, including diagnostic delays and treatment errors.
• Historical Context: Despite previous reports highlighting systemic communication failures, actionable solutions have yet to be implemented.

Supporting documents, such as the Preliminary Report on VA Healthcare Discontinuity, Quick Start Guide, Addendums to Preliminary Report, etc... are available upon request.

William M. Morgan, author of the Preliminary Report on VA Healthcare Discontinuity states:

“As a disabled veteran who has navigated the complexities of the VA healthcare system, I can attest to the critical need for reliable communication between the VA and community care providers. This glitch not only jeopardizes the health of veterans but also undermines their trust in a system that is meant to care for them. We need immediate action to rectify these failures before more lives are put at risk.”

Veterans nationwide deserve timely and reliable healthcare services. It is imperative that VA leadership and policymakers take immediate action to rectify this situation. Our veterans' health and lives depend on it.

Immediate corrective measures are essential to prevent further jeopardization of veteran healthcare services. For further material, inquiries, or discussions about this pressing issue, please contact William M. Morgan at [email protected].