Walter Reed Isn’t The VA
Just to point something out that people are confusing: Walter Reed is not a VA Facility. It is a Department of Defense Army Hospital.
And honestly, I would be incredibly surprised if private hospitals and insurers aren’t just as bad with data loss as the VA. And of the 5 hospitals I’ve rotated through, the VA has had the best security (translation: the most annoying passwords) of any place I’ve been. Is it perfect, not at all, but its rankings and quality and satisfaction scores don’t come from thin air.
The VA that I have rotated through was a very good hospital.
Sure, things moved a bit slower–but the patients were well taken care of.
Oh, and getting through the password obstacles were annoying. And the fingerprinting. I mean, seriously.
If I recall correctly, the VAs also have a pretty nice electronic medical records system. I was a research assistant in one, not an actual healthcare provider, so I don’t know how all the features worked, but the docs I knew seemed happy with it, and it was easy to find info in.