VA glitch leads vets to false Lou Gehrig's diagnosis - Modern Healthcare

VA glitch leads vets to false Lou Gehrig's diagnosis - Modern Healthcare
A computer glitch mistakenly led more than 1,200 veterans to believe they had a fatal illness. According to the National Gulf War Resource Center, the Veterans Affairs Department erroneously sent out letters to veterans telling them they had “a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,” or ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

As a result, the Gulf War veterans group was barraged by phone calls from veterans concerned that they had a terminal illness. “Many of these veterans went to private clinicians to get a second opinion. This second opinion outside of the VA is very expensive and can range from $1,000 to $3,000 or more,” the center said in a written statement on its Web site.


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