Alleged Consult Management Issues and Improper Conduct, W.G. (Bill) Hefner VA Medical Center, Salisbury, North Carolina

OIG conducted an inspection in response to allegations that a physician improperly closed Non-VA Care Coordination (NVCC) consults and inappropriate comments were made about a patient at the W.G. (Bill) Hefner VA Medical Center in Salisbury, NC. We did not substantiate the allegation that a physician improperly cancelled or discontinued NVCC consults, thus denying patients needed care. Record reviews of 214 consults revealed that the reasons for cancellation or discontinuation were logical, met Veterans Health Administration and/or local guidelines, and were appropriately documented. While we substantiated the allegation that a physician made an inappropriate comment about a patient, we found that the facility took appropriate action and the physician apologized for the statement. We made no recommendations.