Healthcare Inspection Alleged Inappropriate Prescription and Staffing Practices Hampton VA Medical Center Hampton, Virginia

In January 2010, Senator Jim Webb’s office contacted the Office of Inspector General with multiple allegations regarding inappropriate prescribing practices, pain management, staffing, and other quality of care issues in primary care (PC) at the Hampton VA Medical Center, Hampton, Virginia (the medical center). We did not substantiate that PC providers were forced to write prescriptions for patients not under their care. However, we did find that if providers refuse to write narcotic prescriptions for their assigned patients, the patients can request a new provider. We recommended that all prescribing providers are trained in the process for prescribing medications for temporary or newly assigned patients. We substantiated that the Physical Therapy (PT) department was understaffed, but did not substantiate that there was a 6 month backlog of appointments or that PT staff were not trained in pain management. We recommended that managers evaluate all options for recruitment and retention of physical therapists. While we substantiated that medical center staff had been threatened by patients, we found that medical center managers have taken appropriate steps to protect staff. The Veterans Integrated Service Network and Medical Center Directors agreed with the findings and recommendations. The implementation plans are acceptable, and we will follow up on the planned actions until they are completed.