VVA Chapter PI 887

1. SPECIAL VA MANILA OPC UPDATES:

As many of you likely saw last week, Metro Manila and the Philippine Government Interagency Task Force on COVID-19 announced continued General Community Quarantine (GCQ) in effect within Metro Manila through the month of October. While the National Capital Region remains under GCQ restrictions, the VA Manila Outpatient Clinic will continue operating under our current strategy, providing very limited in-person primary care services (reserved almost exclusively for initial, first-time visits to the Clinic for newly enrolling Veterans), and focusing on providing specialty care services in person. We continue to offer telephone appointments for established primary care and mental health Veterans. This current operational posture will continue in effect at least until Friday, November 6, 2020. I will continue to provide regular updates.

The Clinic’s scheduling staff are advising Veterans of the status of their appointments approximately 1 week before during their appointment reminder call. But I would also encourage Veterans to contact the Clinic to confirm your appointment if you haven’t been contacted by the VA Manila Clinic. In the past few weeks, I have noticed an increasing number of Veterans who are traveling to the Clinic, only to find out their appointment was moved to a telephone clinic and scheduling staff were not able to contact Veterans. Many of our VA Manila Physicians are working remotely from home at this time, so they are not here at the VA Manila Clinic to see you if you do arrive at the Clinic for an appointment that was converted to a virtual appointment. The key takeaway here is to make sure Veterans know that only those with scheduled specialty care appointments, or those specifically instructed to do so, should be traveling to Manila for appointments at this time.

Please also note, the VA Manila Outpatient Clinic does not permit walk-in appointments at this time. Due to physical distancing requirements and restrictions imposed by the US Embassy, VA Manila can only accommodate a limited number of visitors each day at the Clinic – and is not able to account for walk-ins during this time. Veterans with urgent medical concerns are advised to consult with a community provider in your area, or to report to the nearest community hospital for emergency care and treatment.

What does this mean for you?

VA Manila is closed for walk-in medical appointments. If you do not have a scheduled appointment, please do not travel to VA Manila. Enrolled Veterans who have clinical questions should contact their provider via MyHealtheVet or by telephone. A member of your care team will review your concerns and offer virtual care options. The Outpatient Clinic is also unable to accommodate stand-alone appointments for laboratory services or flu vaccinations at this time.

Veterans who are traveling to the Clinic only to pick up medications should be advised that they will not be allowed to enter the VA Clinic to wait for their prescriptions. VA Manila was informed by the Embassy that Veterans will not be allowed to use the Security Screening Facility as a waiting area. Veterans waiting for medication pick up will need to remain outside of the Screening Center while your medications are filled. If you know that you would like to pick up your medications, please indicate a date and time in your Refill Request via Secure Messenger and the Clinic will do our best to have your medications ready to limit your waiting time.

VA Manila is only able to provide a small number of in-person medical appointments for the following specialty care clinics between now and Friday, November 6, 2020: Audiology / ENT, Cardiology, Dermatology, Ophthalmology, Neurology and Pulmonology. Veterans with scheduled appointments in these clinics should plan to travel to Manila for their scheduled appointment, and can expect an appointment reminder call approximately 1 week before your appointment date. If you are unable to keep your scheduled appointment, please contact the Clinic to cancel and reschedule as soon as possible.

All Mental Health Appointments will be conducted by telephone between now and Friday, November 6, 2020. Your MH provider will call you on your primary phone at your scheduled appointment time.

Nearly all Primary Care appointments will be provided by telephone between now and Friday, November 6, 2020. Our Primary Care Doctors have agreed to begin reporting to the Clinic one day a week on a daily rotating basis. These Primary Care appointments have been set aside for new enrollees who are visiting VA Manila for the first time. As you can imagine, there were a number of new Veterans who have asked for initial appointments during the pandemic, and our new Veteran appointments must be done in person. VA Manila will be focusing on getting these new Veterans their primary care appointments during the month of October, so it is unlikely existing VA Manila Veterans will be able to schedule an in-person appointment with their Doctor.

The new Clinic Policies that were put into place and described in detail in a previous message will continue to remain in place for the foreseeable future. This includes mandatory face mask usage while at the Clinic, limiting companions and restriction on accompanying children, and mandatory COVID screening/declaration prior to entering the building. I appreciate everyone’s cooperation to date and your continued adherence to these policies as we look to provide as safe of an environment for our Veteran visitors and staff. Regarding the VA Manila’s face mask policies, Veterans will be required to wear a face mask during their entire visit at the Outpatient Clinic, in accordance with current policies within the Philippines which help reduce the spread of COVID-19. Please ensure that any face masks you are wearing to the clinic do not have a breathing valve – as these valves significantly reduce the effectiveness of masks.

2.    2020 CLOTHING ALLOWANCE UPDATES & 2021 APPLICATION SUBMISSION

VA Manila has received several requests from Veterans for updates regarding your 2020 Clothing Allowance applications. When VA Manila processed these applications prior to the 2020 benefit year, Veterans in the Philippines typically would receive their payment during the months of September and October.

The VA Pittsburgh Prosthetics Department recently indicated they are experiencing delays in processing 2020 Clothing Allowance applications from Veterans in the Philippines. Many Veterans did not submit supporting documentation along with their Clothing Allowance application, such as copies of the prescriptions or other medical documentation supporting the Veterans claim. This requires Pittsburgh to research the Veteran’s medical records and FMP claims to validate a Veteran’s clothing allowance claim. In many instances, the Pittsburgh prosthetics office may need to reach out to Veterans to request this additional documentation before they can approve the claim for payment.

Unfortunately, I do not have specific updates on each Veterans individual application, but Veterans who have questions about their specific claim can contact the VA Pittsburgh Prosthetics Department directly at:

VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System
Attn: Prosthetics (132/A)
University Drive Campus
Pittsburgh, PA 15240-1003
Local:             +1-412-822-2222
Toll Free:       +1-866-482-7488
Prosthetics:   +1-412-822-3728

VA Manila is still finalizing plans for Veterans regarding 2021 Clothing Allowance applications. I hope to have further updates on this in my November update newsletter.

3.    CHANGE IN POLICY FOR NEWLY ENROLING VETERANS AT VA MANILA

Effective October 1, 2020, VA Manila instituted a new process for Veterans who are first-time enrollees for health care services from the Outpatient Clinic. VA Manila will now conduct a clinical review of all Veterans registering for care at this Clinic for the first time. The purpose of this clinical review will be to determine if it is medically appropriate for a Veteran to be enrolled with a primary care provider at VA Manila.

Veterans who wish to enroll for care should complete a VA Form 10-10EZ and submit it to the Clinic’s Enrollment and Eligibility Department. VA Manila staff, in consultation with regional VA leadership, will review the Veteran’s application and past medical history and determine if enrollment at VA Manila is clinically indicated. Veterans will be contacted within 3 business days regarding the outcome of this review and scheduled for an initial primary care appointment if approved.

The purpose of the policy change is to ensure that VA Manila can effectively meet the healthcare needs of newly enrolling Veterans, and prevent VA Manila from potentially providing fragmented services. This change will not impact Veterans who are already enrolled at the Outpatient Clinic and who maintain active enrollment with a primary care PACT team.

If there are specific questions with this new policy, Veterans should contact VA Manila’s Enrollment and Eligibility Department at #MyVA (#6982), Option 2.

4.    VA MANILA PHARMACY UPDATES:

The VA Manila Pharmacy continues to dispense needed medication refills and new medications ordered for Veterans during their telephone appointments. Both courier services used by the Pharmacy to deliver medications (Air21 and LBC) have resumed most of their operations within the Philippines, although some delays are still being noted, mostly for medication shipments to the most rural parts of the Philippines, or to individual islands in the Visayas or Mindanao. Most Veterans within Luzon should have their medications delivered within 3 days of shipment from the Outpatient Clinic.

One important thing to note, there are still restrictions on the shipment of perishable items within the Philippines – which includes many refrigerated medications like insulin and other injectable medications. Due to these restrictions, VA Manila cannot ship these medications to Veterans in the Philippines at this time. We encourage Veterans who take these medications to purchase needed prescriptions from a community pharmacy, and seek reimbursement from the Foreign Medical Program if these are medications used for service-connected conditions. As soon as we are able, we will begin shipping these medications to Veterans.

Veterans needing to request refills are asked to continue to use MyHealtheVet or the VA Manila Automated Pharmacy Refill Line (#MyVA, Option 8), for Pharmacy to process their medications.

5.    VA MANILA FLU SEASON UPDATES:

VA Manila has received our supply of Southern Hemisphere 2020 Flu Season Vaccine. This vaccine is not for COVID, but for the standard, seasonal influenza virus. Here in the Philippines, the Flu Season has traditionally run the opposite of the United States, with the highest rates of cases occurring between June and November. If you will be traveling to the Clinic for an appointment, be sure to ask your team nurse about receiving the annual flu shot. We are not able to accommodate walk-in appointments just to receive the flu shot, and unfortunately, will not be traveling to outreach events in the Philippines this year where we have often provided flu vaccines. We strongly recommend all Veterans in the Philippines during the rainy season consider receiving the flu vaccine.

6.    VA MANILA REGIONAL OFFICE UPDATES:

The Regional Office continues to provide telephone-based services between 8:00 am and 12:00 noon. Veterans may contact the Regional Office by dialing: +63-02-8550-3888, Option 1, or by dialing #MyVA (#6982), Option 1 from any mobile or landline phone in the Philippines.

The Regional Office remains closed to in-person visitors at this time. Veterans should not travel to the VA Manila Regional Office for in-person assistance. Face-to-face interactions are still not available at this time. For inquiries and submissions, your options are the following:

MAIL: Department of Veterans Affairs Claim Intake Center PO Box 4444 Janesville, WI 53547-4444

Online Question Submission via IRIS: https://iris.custhelp.va.gov/app/ask

FAX: +1 (844)531-7818

We are announcing a new local fax number for our Claims Intake Center in Janesville WI.  You can now fax your claims and documents without international costs.

If you are calling from inside the Metro Manila area, dial 8-550-3942.

If you are calling from outside of the Metro Manila, you have the following options:

Ø  028-550-3942 (with domestic long distance charges)

#MyVA (#6982) or 1-800-1888-5252 and dial 3942 once you hear the voice prompt (no domestic long distance charges)

For information on VA benefits and forms, you may visit the following:

VA Website: http://www.va.gov

VA Forms: https://www.va.gov/vaforms/default.asp

Online VA Federal Benefits Handbook: https://www.va.gov/opa/publications/benefits_book.asp

For information on VA benefits and forms, you may visit the following:

VA Website: http://www.va.gov

VA Forms: https://www.va.gov/vaforms/default.asp

Online VA Federal Benefits Handbook: https://www.va.gov/opa/publications/benefits_book.asp

7. FOREIGN MEDICAL PROGRAM (FMP) INFO AND UPDATES:

VA Manila is pleased to announce a new local fax number for the FMP.  You can now fax your FMP claims and supporting documents to their office in Denver, Colorado without incurring international costs.

·        If you are calling from inside the Metro Manila, dial 8550-3943.

·        If you are calling from outside of the Metro Manila, you have the following options:

o    02-8550-3943 (with domestic long-distance charges)

#MyVA (#6982) and dial extension 3943 once you hear the voice prompt (no domestic long-distancecharges)

FMP Website: https://www.va.gov/communitycare/

FMP Mailing Address:

                               VHA Office of Community Care
                               ATTN: Foreign Medical Program
                               PO Box 469061
                               Denver CO 80246-9061 USA

FMP Phone Number:  #MyVA (#6982) and select option 4 once you hear the voice prompt (no domestic long-distance charges).

Hours of Operation:

Monday to Friday 8:05 PM to 6:45AM (the next morning) Manila Time

Monday to Friday 6:05AM to 4:45 PM US Mountain Time (Denver, CO)

8. UPCOMING HOLIDAYS: 

The U.S. Embassy, along with the VA Manila Regional Office and Outpatient Clinic, will be closed in recognition of the following public holidays:

US Columbus Day – Monday, October 12

PH All Saints Day – Monday, November 2

US Veterans Day – Wednesday, November 11

US Thanksgiving Day – Thursday, November 26

NOTE: Plan ahead and order your refills 10 workdays in advance of holiday closures.  Air21 is also closed on these holidays so medications will be delayed if you fail to request refills 10 days in advance. If you run out of medications for a service-connected condition, you can buy the medicine from a community pharmacy and file a claim for reimbursement from the FMP.

As always, if you need any assistance, please email your primary care team in MyHealtheVet, or you are welcome to contact me directly: daniel.gutkoski2@va.gov.

Your VA Manila Team

———————————–

Daniel Gutkoski, MHA
Clinic Manager, VA Outpatient Clinic
Manila, Republic of the Philippines
Email: daniel.gutkoski2@va.gov
Office: +63 (2) 8-396-3735 **New**
US Dial: +1 (808) 433-5254 x3735