OIG Monthly HighlightsCONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY Office of Inspector General Senior Physician Testifies at House Field Hearing on VA’s Telehealth Program Thomas Wong, D.O., Senior Physician, Office of Healthcare Inspections, testified at a field hearing in Traverse City, MI, before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives, regarding the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) work on VA’s Home Telehealth (HT) program. He discussed OIG’s recent healthcare inspection that reviewed allegations related to the documentation of patient enrollment in HT at the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center (VAMC). OIG’s report, Healthcare Inspection–Documentation of Patient Enrollment Concerns in Home Telehealth, John D. Dingell VAMC, Detroit, Michigan, found that more than 800 patients were not properly enrolled by program staff into HT; that program staff worked overtime in order to initiate these improper enrollments; and that without use of overtime to initiate these enrollments, the facility and Associate Chief of Nursing Service would not have surpassed the annual performance goal for HT encounters. Dr. Wong’s testimony also highlighted opportunities for VA to expand the use of HT, particularly with respect to aiding providers, often in emergency room settings, who diagnose a patient with a very recent cerebral stroke.
Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG)
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