US Veteran Affairs Whistleblowers Say Medical Records Illegally Accessed

Two US whistleblowers, Brandon Coleman and Lisa Tadano, both claimed that the Phoenix Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system did not provide adequate training to personnel treating patients at risk of suicide.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Two US whistleblowers, who alleged that veteran suicides were mishandled at a medical center in Phoenix, Arizona, have complained that their medical records were illegally accessed by other staff at the center, local media reported Monday.

Earlier this year, Brandon Coleman and Lisa Tadano both claimed that the Phoenix Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system did not provide adequate training to personnel treating patients at risk of suicide.

"Now you have one person, Penny Miller, getting access to two VA employees' accounts, what will be the recourse on that," Tadano said, as quoted by the ABC 15 channel.

Her worries were echoed by Coleman who said that he had never been treated by Miller, which makes the social worker ineligible to see his medical records.

According to the TV channel, Coleman said earlier that his supervisors had threatened to fire him if he went public with his concerns.

In February, US Senator John McCain urged VA Secretary Robert McDonald to look into the allegations of harassment and intimidation made by the whistleblowers.

The Department of Veterans affairs has been beset by scandals in the past year, which forced Secretary McDonald to announce a massive restructuring of the department after more than 100,000 veterans faced long waits for healthcare.