Healthcare Inspection Review of VHA’s “Our Doctors” Website Accuracy

The VA Office of Inspector General Office of Healthcare Inspections conducted a review in response to a letter from 10 current or former members of Congress requesting investigation of inaccurate information that was posted on the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) “Our Doctors” website. Our review found that VHA had not clearly defined the processes involved in uploads of information to the “Our Doctors” website, had not required adequate validation prior to posting information to the website, and had not defined a frequency of updates that would identify normal changes occurring in providers’ credentials over time. In addition, processes did not allow for facility level corrections. The result was some inaccurate information posted on the “Our Doctors” website. When brought to their attention, VHA facilities reviewed the information and initiated corrective action plans. Although VHA has issued some clarification and a disclaimer, further definitions and clarification are needed. Oversight processes need to be implemented at facility, network, and national levels. We identified two system weaknesses and recommended that the Acting Under Secretary for Health ensure that VHA develops and implements a policy defining the purpose, responsibilities, and requirements for ensuring current credentials information on the “Our Doctors” website and develops and implements an oversight process for accuracy of the information posted on the “Our Doctors” website.