It can take months for veterans to actually receive health care from the VA, but Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald wants people to focus on the destination, not the journey. "When you go to Disney, do they measure the number of hours you wait in line? Or what's important?" McDonald asked Monday, apparently entirely serious. "What's important is, what's your satisfaction with the experience? And what I would like to move to, eventually, is that kind of measure."
The VA has been heavily criticized for failing to provide timely care to patients (or even accurate information about said care). McDonald has also brushed aside "create date" measures, which gauge a vet's wait time by counting the days since he or she first requested care, saying "create dates" aren't a "valid measure" of a patient's experience.
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