Veterans Health Administration:
Better Data and Evaluation Could Help Improve Physician Staffing, Recruitment, and Retention Strategies
GAO-18-124: Published: Oct 19, 2017. Publicly Released: Oct 19, 2017.
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Does the Veterans Health Administration have enough doctors to keep up with veterans' growing health care needs? It can't be sure.
VHA knows the number of doctors it employs (over 11,000), but it doesn’t know how many contract physicians and physician trainees (e.g., medical residents) are used to meet its staffing needs. And although VHA uses multiple strategies to support the hiring and retention of physicians—including financial incentives and a physician training program—it hasn't evaluated their effectiveness.
We recommended that VHA develop a process to track all physicians, and evaluate its recruitment and retention strategies.
Photo of the Department of Veterans Affairs headquarters.
Additional Materials:
- Highlights Page:
- Full Report:
- Accessible Version:
Contact:
(202) 512-7114
draperd@gao.gov
Office of Public Affairs
(202) 512-4800
youngc1@gao.gov
What GAO Found
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), has opportunities to improve staffing, recruitment, and retention strategies for physicians that it identified as a priority for staffing, or mission-critical. For 2016, the top five physician mission-critical occupations were primary care, mental health, gastroenterology, orthopedic surgery, and emergency medicine. Specifically, GAO identified the following issues:
Incomplete information on number of physicians. VHA is unable to accurately count the total number of physicians who provide care in its VA medical centers (VAMC). VHA has data on the number of mission-critical physicians it employs (more than 11,000) and that provide services on a fee-basis (about 2,800). However, VHA lacks data on the number of contract physicians and physician trainees. Five of the six VAMCs in GAO's review used contract physicians or physician trainees to meet their staffing needs, but VHA has no information on the extent to which VAMCs nationwide use these arrangements.
VAMCs' Use of Contract Physicians, Fee-Basis Physicians, and Physician Trainees for Mission-Critical Physician Occupations at the Six VAMCs We Reviewed, as of March 31, 2017
Inconsistent productivity data. VHA measures productivity for some mission-critical physician occupations; however, mental health departments receive conflicting sets of productivity metrics from two VHA offices—the Office of Productivity, Efficiency, and Staffing and the Office of Mental Health Operations. VHA officials told us the two offices use differing data to serve different purposes, and acknowledged that while information on how to interpret the two sets of productivity data is available, VAMC officials may find the data confusing.
Lack of a comprehensive evaluation of its recruitment and retention strategies. VHA has not evaluated the effectiveness of its physician recruitment and retention strategies. One such strategy—hiring physician trainees—is weakened by ineffectual hiring practices, such as delaying employment offers until graduation. VHA's strategies could be strengthened by comprehensively evaluating the causes of recruitment and retention difficulties and identifying effective solutions.
Why GAO Did This Study
Physicians serve an integral role in VHA's mission of providing care to the nation's veterans. VHA hires more than 2,800 mission-critical physicians annually. Yet, physicians have consistently been identified by VHA as a critical staffing priority due to recruitment and retention concerns.
The explanatory statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 directed GAO to review VHA's physician workforce. This report addresses: for the mission-critical physicians, (1) VHA data on how many physicians provide care, and (2) the extent VHA measures physician workload and productivity; and for all physicians, (3) what evaluations have been done on the effectiveness of its recruitment and retention strategies. GAO reviewed VHA documentation, such as policies and guidance, personnel data and workload measures. GAO interviewed officials from VHA Central Office, and six VAMCs and their corresponding regional offices. GAO selected the VAMCs for variation in location, facility complexity, and physician staffing levels.
What GAO Recommends
GAO makes five recommendations, including that VA develop a process to count all physicians, provide guidance on productivity measurement, and evaluate its physician recruitment and retention strategies. VA concurred with four of the five recommendations, but not with the one to accurately count all physicians, stating that its workforce assessment tools are sufficient. However, GAO maintains that this is essential for effective workforce planning, as described in the report.
For more information, contact Debra A. Draper at (202) 512-7114 or draperd@gao.gov.
Recommendations for Executive Action
Status: Open
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Recommendation: The Undersecretary for Health should develop and implement a process to accurately count all physicians providing care at each medical center, including physicians who are not employed by VHA. (Recommendation 1)
Agency Affected: Department of Veterans Affairs: Veterans Health Administration
Status: Open
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Recommendation: The Undersecretary for Health should develop and issue guidance to the VAMCs on determining appropriate staffing levels for all mission-critical physician occupations. (Recommendation 2)
Agency Affected: Department of Veterans Affairs: Veterans Health Administration
Status: Open
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Recommendation: The Undersecretary for Health should ensure that when multiple offices issue similar productivity data on physician occupations, any methodological differences are clearly communicated and guidance is provided on how to interpret and reconcile the data. (Recommendation 3)
Agency Affected: Department of Veterans Affairs: Veterans Health Administration
Status: Open
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Recommendation: The Undersecretary for Health should establish a system-wide method to share information about physician trainees to help fill vacancies across VAMCs. (Recommendation 4)
Agency Affected: Department of Veterans Affairs: Veterans Health Administration
Status: Open
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Recommendation: The Undersecretary for Health should conduct a comprehensive, system-wide evaluation of the physician recruitment and retention strategies used by VAMCs to determine their overall effectiveness, identify and implement improvements, ensure coordination across VHA offices, and establish an ongoing monitoring process. (Recommendation 5)
Agency Affected: Department of Veterans Affairs: Veterans Health Administration
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