Agent Orange: VA Needs To Further Improve Its Examination and Registry Program: HRD-86-7

In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Veterans Administration's (VA) Agent Orange examination program to determine: (1) how promptly VA examined veterans; (2) whether VA was formally notifying veterans of examination results; and (3) how reliable and complete the Agent Orange registry was. GAO found that: (1) veterans scheduled for appointments in the summer of 1984 had to wait an average of no more than 30 days at five of the eight medical centers visited; (2) at two of the centers, which did not give examinations within 30 days, delays resulted from the demand created by publicity after the settlement of an Agent Orange lawsuit; (3) at the third center, delays resulted from publicity and a heavy work load; (4) some veterans who had serious health problems were not formally notified of their problems, as required; (5) six of the eight centers visited were sending letters to veterans after their examinations most of the time; (6) one center sent letters only to veterans who did not return to discuss their laboratory test results with the physician; (7) only two centers that sent letters explained both examination and laboratory test results; (8) the computerized registry that records veterans' symptoms is not reliable because only a restricted number of codes can be used to identify complaints; and (9) as of June 1985, about 47,600 of the over 199,400 examinations medical facilities reported had not been entered in the registry, limiting its usefulness.