WASHINGTON – Pres. Biden signed the Patient Advocate Tracker Act into law that Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.) and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) spearheaded in the Senate. The law increases transparency and accountability at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for veterans who report concerns they experience with VA health care services.
“With the Patient Advocate Tracker Act now law, our veterans will get more efficient, better quality health care from the VA,” said Kennedy.
The VA uses the patient advocate tracking system (PATS) to track and report complaints from veterans. The Patient Advocate Tracker Act would allow veterans to access PATS in order to file complaints and view the status of those health care concerns, including interim and final actions that the VA has taken to resolve issues facing individual veterans.
By granting veterans access to PATS, VA employees could more effectively route veterans’ concerns to the appropriate department within the VA, avoiding unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles.