Why Were Veterans’ Radiology Exams Cancelled in Florida VA Hospital?

Four radiology technicians at James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa, Florida are accusing the hospital of cancelling hundreds of imaging exam appointments without adhering to VA safety guidelines.

The technicians allege that hospital officials covered up the cancellations by turning off printers that would have printed the cancellation reports. According to the technicians, these cancelled appointments impacted the patients who were waiting for exams. However, it’s not clear if there is evidence that the veterans suffered on account of not having their scans. These allegations were a part of a sexual harassment and intimidation lawsuit the technicians have filed against the hospital.

The investigation comes on the heels of a 2017 VA order to decrease the backlog of 300,000 radiology exams that were referred but never performed within a 60-day period. According to VA officials, the policy was implemented because many of the patients no longer needed the exams. The directive prompted Haley to eliminate 262 of its 700 overdue orders.

In the past, other VA hospitals have been accused of mishandling backlogs. In 2015, the Oversight Inspector General found that VA South Texas Veterans Health Care System had over 17,000 pending orders that were past due. In 2016, another investigation found that the W.G. Hefner VA Medical Center in Salisbury, NC had a wait-list of more than 3,300 patients waiting for exams, with some dating back to 2007.