VA Failed to Track Nearly a Million Veterans' Care Calls, Watchdog Finds

A preliminary VA Office of Inspector General audit found that 13 of the 15 VA medical centers reviewed lacked key data to track specialty-care phone calls, leaving nearly one million of the 2.1 million veteran calls unrecorded over a 12-month period ending July 31, 2025.

“The wife of one veteran wanted her husband to be evaluated, fearing his cancer may have spread, and sought a radiology appointment last year with the Department of Veterans Affairs”

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The audit focused on call operations across six specialties including audiology, dental, mental health, optometry, podiatry, and radiology.

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The inspector general’s sampling found leaders “had no oversight of call performance for 49 of their 78 clinics,” highlighting the scale of missing tracking.

The audit documented concrete patient harms and frustrations: one veteran’s wife who sought a radiology appointment reported numerous calls going to voicemail and no follow-up within a promised 24 hours.

Other veterans said they traveled to VA facilities in person after phone attempts failed for scheduling or changing appointments.

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Inspectors reported hearing these firsthand accounts during visits to facilities in Miami and Washington, D.C., and the report flagged radiology and mental health services as higher-risk for poor outcomes.

The report says the VA lacks the tools and systems needed to measure and manage specialty-call performance.

“The wife of one veteran wanted her husband to be evaluated, fearing his cancer may have spread, and sought a radiology appointment last year with the Department of Veterans Affairs”

CNN

A VA Office of Information and Technology official “confirmed that VA lacks a system to capture call performance data for specialty clinics that use individual or shared phone lines,” and in many cases there are no plans to fix those systems.

The VA set 2023 standards—answer at least 80% of calls within 30 seconds and allow 5% or fewer calls to go unanswered—but the inspector general said it’s unclear whether the department can determine if it is meeting those goals without reliable tracking.

Veteran advocacy groups and watchdog leaders pressed the VA for transparency and fixes, and the inspector general indicated an interim advisory ahead of a full report expected this summer.

Kyleanne Hunter, CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, called for better tracking and more transparency, saying that “Tracking data is how the VA improves its processes to ensure veterans’ needs are met in a timely manner.”

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John Ritzer of Disabled American Veterans echoed the need for reliable contact and clearer guidance so veterans can secure necessary specialty care.