Veterans at risk may have been affected by a recent Department of Veterans Affairs health care alert showing a computer glitch was canceling doctors consults including consultations for anticoagulation assessments.

The alert states that a large number of appointments were auto-canceled both before and after October 1, 2015. The email alert sent to employees later leaked to DisabledVeterans.org explains the extent of the problem.

VA claims a software glitch within its health care CPRS system rejected large numbers of veterans appointments. These appointments are called consult orders or procedure orders. VA became aware of the issue when facilities transitioned from ICD-9 to ICD-10 on October 1, 2015. An investigation of the problem revealed the cancelation problem existed prior to October 1.

The alert was not on VA’s web page for National Patient Safety Alerts and not in the press.

BREAKING: Veterans Affairs National Patient Safety Alert