Every eight sessions, I have to fill out a form on the patient's progress. It's a form created by PCVRS, and it has nothing to do with the kind of progress report I would normally write.
The form is often sent back to me several times for terminology and compliance issues. I end up spending an enormous amount of time on these forms, which serve no purpose. I also systematically refuse to have my patients fill out progress questionnaires, even though PCVRS requires them to, because Veterans Affairs Canada already has PCVRS get veterans to fill out questionnaires every time they speak with them.
I can give you an example. I know someone who works with veterans and is very concerned about suicide risk among them. Every time he sees them, he asks the same questions about suicidality, substance use and fear of violence.
After being asked the same questions, what do you think veterans are going to do? They're going to end up lying because they won't want to answer that kind of questionnaire again. Constantly reassessing a veteran's progress by making them fill out questionnaires that make no sense is going to end up giving PCVRS false positives, because veterans don't want their benefits reduced and they're tired of answering the same questions.
I think it's this form of bureaucracy that complicates everything and doesn't give a true picture of what veterans are experiencing.