OpenVA Browse Popular ideas

Veterans Affairs could save employee man hours and stress to Veterans if the VA would supply step by step instructions to Veterans on how to:

(A) get the quickest diagnoses and
(B) how to properly file a benefits claim if applicable and
(C) distribute an emergency check for $2500 to those who have been diagnosed and it is more likely than not they will receive benefits similar of how citizens were treated after Katrina.... more »

As a disable veteran having been in the system for more than 20 years, I can definitely relate to the having records lost, duplicate request, not knowing where the status of my claim, and simply the frustrations of waiting. The other week I ordered a pizza online and was amazed at how intuitive, and informative their ordering process was. I wondered with all the technology out there, the monies and time that are wasted... more »

I think VA needs to have a Portal that Veterans could sign into to get copies of VA Rating results and other documents to save money of mailing and also if a Veteran loses a copy. They could log in an get the document and print it from home. The would help with printing cost and postage. Being in the paperless world.

I think VA should have a site where Veterans can go and select to receive their correspondence from the VA via email. By doing this the VA could save millions of dollars in office supplies. Right now it takes an average of three days for a piece of mail to get to the Veteran from the day it was place in the mail system. This would also allow the Veteran to save the file without having to create a paper file. These saving... more »

Add to the My Healthevet program by allowing vet to access and obtain copies of all labwork, testing results, and doctor's notes. It would save time for the vet by not having to wait the 10- 20 days it currently takes to get copies of records. It would save money by not needing postage to mail the records to the vet. It would cut down on the number of employees needed to work in medical records by enabling vets to obtain... more »

When a veteran submits a claim he/she should be able to go to a site within the VA site that will allow them to check on the status of their claim. By the same token the VA should have milestones built into the system that will require that the VA adjudicator communicate with the veteran at preset day markers informing the vet of the status of the claim. Markers would be at 30 day intervals starting with 60 days. Once... more »

There should be no cut-off date to receive comments and ideas from patients and employees of the VA system. It is a mystery to find anyone who will respond to your claims and complaints about anything to do with services.

It seems the paper shuffling and burecratic shuffle is the order of the day.

The VA should have one website where veterans/beneficiaries can login and view all of their VA benefit information. This should include status, location, and anticipated completed of claims in progress as well as payment information of benefits currently being received. This resource would eliminate a lot of confusion and aggrivation on the part of us veterans and should reduce the the number of inquiries to various... more »

V.A. should set goals and keep records on three aspects of all phone calls.

First V.A. should record the number of calls and amount of time the caller is spending on the phone trying to get help.

Second track the amount of time the caller is kept on hold. This should be seperate from the total phone time mentioned above.

Third keep track of the number of calls where the caller is hung up on after being... more »

I worked for the IRS for 32 years. We had an office called Taxpayer Advocate. Their job was to get invoked when the normal course of operations of the agency failed. They had broad powers. Including the right to intervene at any point in the audit process. They solved a lot of problems by making the system work better. We should have such a process in the veterans administration.

I am a County Veterans Service Officer. The VA should have web based computer access for CVSOs to access VIRTUAL VA and SHARE. Utilizing a Username and Password. We are able to access our State VA with this type of set up.

Currently you need to navigate 3 firewalls and the load time for VPN is 15 minutes or more. Sometimes it does not load at all. This will eliminate 1,000s of phone calls to the 800 numbers that... more »

Stop hiding behind busy lines and pick up the phone. I'm being told to call back at a less busy time. The time I'm calling is one of the times they recomend as less busy. Sombody needs to get a handle on the poor phone service at the va.

I am familar with internet research techniques but the last two hours have failed to find a single VA link for medical staff biographies at Albuquerque VAHC. Not even the Director, or Chief of Staff, or Department Heads. What are you afraid of folks? I'm not even asking for contact info, just a picture and qualifications so I can ID the people to whom I'm expected to entrust my health. This should be a point of pride!... more »

I think that the VA and DOD should work together to allow VA employees access to different data sources that the DOD has on each Veteran. Some examples are the LOD "Line OF Duty" Portal https://apps.mods.army.mil/lod/, which would allow the VA to view LOD for injured Army National Guard and Army Reserve Soldiers, instead of submitting a request that could take up to six months to receive. DOD also has IPERMS https://iperms.army.mil/rms/... more »

My suggestion has to do with how service connection (SC) is determined at the VA. It has always been a wonder to me why the VA is so adamant about your VA Primary Care Physician (PCP) NOT having access to your service medical records (SMR). If you go to a civilian/private doctor as your primary physician one of the first things they do is request any past medical records to see your medical history and thus it helps them... more »