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Copyright 2009 Palo Alto Daily News Palo Alto Daily News (California) Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News November 14, 2009 Saturday
SECTION: STATE AND REGIONAL NEWS ACC-NO: 20091114-PL-VA-hospital-1114 LENGTH: 820 words HEADLINE: VA hospital: State requests probe of VA hospital \\?? 23 glaucoma patients suffered serious vision loss BYLINE: Jessica Bernstein, Palo Alto Daily News, Calif. BODY: Nov. 14--The state consumer affairs department has formally requested an investigation into the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, where 23 glaucoma patients experienced significant vision loss while receiving treatment. California Department of Consumer Affairs Director Brian Stiger made the request in response to an administrative petition the California Academy of Eye Surgeons and Physicians, the American Glaucoma Society and the California Medical Association filed in September with his agency. "As the events at the VA hospital do concern consumers, I am formally requesting that the Board of Optometry, together with the Medical Board of California, investigate the occurrences at the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Hospital regarding the eye care provided to veterans, including the role of optometrists and physicians in that care," Stiger wrote in a Nov. 10 letter addressed to Dr. James Ruben, president of the California Academy of Eye Surgeons and Physicians. "To the extent permitted by existing state and federal law, I am also requesting that those boards make public the findings of the investigation," Stiger said. |