Veterans Affairs committee  In the public service, each employee has a learning plan and we do a yearly appraisal. A client service agent or case manager will sit at least once a year with their manager to review their training needs, their performance. If there are areas that need a refresher or need to be

Veterans Affairs committee  We have quality assurance exercises—I prefer to call them quality assurance, not quality control. Yes, if the follow-ups in the case plan are not carried out, we have to check with the case manager to see why it has not been updated. I must also say that the case plan can change.

Veterans Affairs committee  Case managers are employed by the department, but sometimes we may call on clinical case managers. Those are external, contracted resources that we can call. But they are not the ones in charge of case management. If we have to take action in a more... How should I say this? Let'

Veterans Affairs committee  That does not ring a bell.

Veterans Affairs committee  The first step is within the department, but if we need to seek expertise outside of the department and in the community, in the provincial system, and through the clinics, through other means, we will in order to assist.

Veterans Affairs committee  Are you referring to the 90-day follow-up in the rehabilitation program? Unfortunately, when the case manager had a heavy workload with a very high number of veterans requiring case management services, it was a challenge to contact them all within 90 days to provide them with fe

Veterans Affairs committee  I don't have the exact number. There are more than 50 in the regional offices or district offices. The network of OSI clinics also has clinical experts who can provide support. Experts from the head office in Charlottetown can also guide people. This number does not include healt

Veterans Affairs committee  It's part of developing the culture of a team approach and having an interdisciplinary team to assist the veteran. Also, we've been seeing a growing complexity of the issues over time. Individuals requiring case management 20 years ago, 15 years ago, and some of the complex cases

Veterans Affairs committee  No, he wouldn't have to pay out of pocket. We would pay the provider. The provider would contact us the day the veteran goes for the exam and gets fitted for the hearing aid or as he's seeing the veteran, and we would okay the provider to bill us, not the veteran. The veteran wou

Veterans Affairs committee  It depends. We have some case managers who are more skilled and more experienced. They might not need to consult with case management experts on complex issues. But we can have case managers with less experience. Although they are very good and qualified, they may seek the advic

Veterans Affairs committee  It might not be a case manager; it might be another person in the district office dealing with that. If the individual already has a hearing disability that's been recognized as linked to his or her service, when he goes to his provider to get the hearing aid, the provider would

Veterans Affairs committee  We have a solid program. We do research. When I say research, we don't do research in case management, but we do research on best practices; we exchange best practices, and we keep up to date. We do have experts within the department who keep up to date worldwide on best practice

Veterans Affairs committee  First of all, I want to thank you. We do have staff who are very dedicated and highly skilled. For them, what they do for veterans is more than a job, so thank you. I will relay the message. Again, as we have mentioned before, the tool that has helped people in the field, on the

Veterans Affairs committee  We do a screening. It could be a client service agent or it could be a case manager. It depends on the situation. The basic question is about how the veteran is doing, what his or her situation is. Some of them might know what they're looking for. Some of them might not be aware

Veterans Affairs committee  We do get anecdotal feedback from veterans. They feel that their case manager is more accessible. They feel they can access the case manager and that they get a timely response when following up on their case plan, especially if a request for treatment is being put forward, and t