There are NOT many Veterans who have complete trust and faith in their primary care physicians at the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. For that there are many reasons:
- Most doctors already have the diagnosis figured out and the first line of treatment of a physical condition is with pharmaceuticals (complete list of over 1,500 pharmaceuticals the VA uses is here) and rarely offer alternative treatments such as Yoga, Acupuncture, Aqua-therapy and Chiropractic care through Pain Management and Rehabilitation clinics in each VA.
- Most doctors do NOT listen to the Veteran about what they go through on a daily basis, and if the Veteran is not experiencing the symptom at the moment, they are treated as a “pill seeker”, or as a mental patient, and given even more pills.
- Most doctors do NOT properly schedule appointments with Neurology, or Psychiatric personnel who are the ONLY qualified specialists to diagnose a TBI nor administer any of the proper steps to screen for Traumatic Brain Injuries.
- If the Veteran does not take the recommended pharmaceutical “medicine” the Veteran will not be treated by the VA, being put on what is called a “Do NOT Treat List.”
This image is from the 2013 Veterans Health Care Booklet and it has a sentence that states “if you want a second opinion one will be arranged for you.”
2013 Veterans Health Care Booklet
There is a recent poll done by Concerned Veterans for America where they hired the Tarrance Group to conduct a poll of 1,000 veterans. The poll concluded 88% of veterans want non-VA health care with a margin of error of 3.5%. – Disabled Veterans.org
Veterans, here is our chance. Go to your local VA primary care clinic and request a Second Opinion on your prescriptions and a screening for your possible Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) to ensure further problems do not arise that could lead to even further health issues.
*If you are feeling frisky you can ask to have a second opinion done on your endocannabinoid system which almost all of us are deficient despite how much we think we get from our normal diet.
If we all go to our local VA clinic @ 14:20 (2:20pm) on April 20th, 2016 we can send a clear message to the VA system that we demand the best health care this country has to offer even if it is across the street at a private Hospital. Demand that the VA pay for their failures in screening our health issues and treating our symptoms correctly by getting an outside Second Opinion. It is our right, and our families deserve better!