The Treatment Benefits Unit has realized significant changes in its organizational structure and knowledge capacity in the past number of years which has had an impact on the ability to respond to the numerous enquiries and priorities that continue to emerge in the complex and evolving health care environment in Canada.
There is a need for a concrete governance structure for the Program. Having documentation in place highlighting the objectives, roles and responsibilities, and priorities of the Treatment Benefits Unit would provide direction and ensure that all parties clearly understand their core business. Additionally, ongoing BRC membership discussions and a lack of meetings are creating roadblocks to efficient decision making for treatment benefits and services.
Operational items take precedent over strategic management within the Treatment Benefits Unit. Enquiries/escalations affecting Veterans are considered the highest priority which is directly linked to Departmental priorities; however, there is a strong likelihood that the lack of updates to the benefit grid rates and guidance documents are contributing to the increase in enquiries which the Treatment Benefits Unit has been realizing. If more focus is not spent on managing overarching issues and addressing the root causes, it can reasonably be expected that the Treatment Benefits Unit workload will remain high/continue to grow in these areas while other issues remain unaddressed.
Additionally, focusing on strategic areas would benefit Veterans and VAC staff, by enabling more efficient and effective benefit delivery. Furthermore, if the above issues are not rectified and the disability benefits application/review backlog is resolved, workload for the Treatment Benefits Unit has the potential to increase as new Program recipients begin accessing health care benefits and services.
There has been limited data analysis conducted in the last number of years on treatment benefits by the Treatment Benefits Unit. Ongoing monitoring and reporting of data would support program performance measurement and help identify issues/trends that could help improve the program delivery and management.