WASHINGTON, May 28 (UPI) -- Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel ordered a review of the military health system Tuesday in response to the expanding VA scandal.
Dr. Jonathan Woodson, the assistant defense secretary for health affairs, will lead the 90-day comprehensive review focusing on the access, quality and safety of the care provided. According to the Pentagon's statement, the review will assess where the medical facilities have not met department standards and present recommendations to Hagel on how to fix any systems that fail to qualify.
The review is in response to allegations that 26 VA health facilities were falsifying records to hide the fact that military personnel were dealing with excessively long wait times for medical treatment. Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said Hagel wants assurance that the Department of Defense doesn't have the same problems as the VA.
"It's fair to say that he ordered this review within the context of what is going on at the VA. To the degree we have similar issues -- and we do not know that we necessarily have them -- he wants to understand them and he wants to attack them aggressively," said Kirby.
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