dr. mcdonald's hospital.its anne arundel in annapolis for focussing on one or two procedures and circulating reports so surgeons can compare notes. >> every month we get okay and talk about how doing the hospital, everyone is there. a small room, but it's packed about nurses physical therapists surgeons, an these anesthesiologists, discharge nurses. >> reporter: he wants to keep his complication rate at zero to get patients back on their feet as quick as possible. tisha thompson news4 i-team. >> every doctor we talked with says it is important to ask the right kinds of questions before surgery. we collected all of their suggestions and posted them on our website on our nbc washington app so you can take them with you to the doctor, the next time you are considering surgery. >>> what we need to know, douglas, is how oppressive nasty weather. >> i must have done something wrong to get to douglas. >> i just want your attention. >> addresses you as mr. calmerer. >> a lot of people having issues with the heat, 98

dr. mcdonald's hospital.r in annapolis for creating surgical teams who focus on one or two procedures so surgeons can compare notes. >> every month we get together and talk about how we're doing in the hospital. everyone is is there. it's a small room but it's packed with nurses, physical therapists, surgeons. and these yol gists and they get together to discuss how to make the process better for patients. >> reporter: his personal goal he says is to keep his complicate rate at zero so he can get his patients back on their feet as quickly as possible. in annapolis, tisha thompson news4 i-team. >>> well, we turn our attention to the weather. chuck, we're talking about short sleeves, the shorts. >> yeah. >> good day. >> find a pool. >> well, yesterday we had a lot lower humidity yesterday afternoon. after you get out of the pool you feel cool and refreshed. but more humid today means you won't feel that nice cool breeze like yesterday afternoon. a little bit more humid and unlike yesterday there's a smidgen mor

dr. mcdonald held, 105 years old. served in the philippines during world war ii.05. impressed. just bought my husband a bill rolle.com premium membership. out late september and you will be getting one of the first copies if you order it and pre order it. would you ask mr. goldberg to share the secret to ageing? he looks amazing. bill, enjoyed your singing. please incorporate more of it into the factor. sure, we'll schedule a hootennanny later this month. and finally, congratulations to the american women's soccer team. last night in vancouver, canada the ladies soundly won. the u.s. dominated and brought home the world cup. the first time since 1999. the importance of this is that the world saw american women celebrating their country, honoring the flag proud of it. this patriotic demonstration is a anything natural that we remain a united country despite our political problems. a great image builder for america. back to the tip of the day. that is it for us. please check out the fox news factor website which is different from bill o'reilly.com. also, from anywhe

dr. mcdonald calls it a signs based approach, a way of maintaining an addict's health. not everybody sees the benefit. jim o'rourke runs vision quest recovery society abstinence based rehab for severely addicted career criminals. >> is there a point to get clean? >> i'm 23 years clean and sober i.v. drug user. >> if we're giving these folks heroin, is that a way of giving up on them? >> yeah, you flush them. that's it. there you go, bye-bye. we're not going to deal with you anymore, you need more? let's give you more. >> by giving them heroin, are we giving up on them? >> this is a treatment that is not going to -- will engage people not otherwise engaged in care. if we can't engage people in care, some will die. >> it's like winning the lottery to me, basically yeah. >> he supplements government assistance checks at a government assistance site on hastings street. >> you get your dope when you come here and use it yourself. >> he says his regular supply in a clean medical setting has stabilized his life. we hear the same from leanne. for an addict, this is better than

dr. scott mcdonald who runs the clinic calls it a science-based approach, a way of maintaining an addict's heat. but not everyone agrees. he runs an abstinence based rehab for severely addicted career chills. >> is there a place to be clean. >> i'm 23 years sob, i was an iv drug user, what do you think? i know exactly where it is. >> so if we're giving these folks heroin, is it a way of giving up on them. >> we have flushed them. categorized them in their spot. bye-bye, we're not going to deal with you anymore. we'll gib you more. >> by giving them heroin, are we giving up on them no. >> this is a treatment that is not going to -- it will engage people not otherwise engaged in care, and if we can't engage people in care, some will die. >> it's like winning the lottery to me, basically yeah. i probably wouldn't be here. >> kevin subsidizes government assistance checks with a part-time job at a legal shooting gallery on hastings street. it's something that he doesn't have to do anymore. his regular supply in a clean medical setting has stabilized his life. we hear the same from leanne. for a

dr. abraham: secretary, you said of the $3 billion you are anticipating, $500 million of that would be designated for hepatitis c treatment? sen. mcdonald: yes, sir. dr. abraham: i yield back. >> thank you mr. chairman. with regard to the medical scribes, elaborate on that pilot program, because these are great pilot sector --t private sector solutions. i had a town meeting that lasted four hours and people were bringing that up last weekend. you want the doctors to focus on medicine. elaborate on that pilot program. sen. mcdonald: i have heard a lot of this. at every facility i go to there is a different approach. we are pretty consistent in the team of people working with a particular patient. on those teams today, we do not have a scribe. i think what jim was describing was, let's pilot describes so that everybody on that team can be working on the patient and not just entering information into the medical record. dr. tuchschmidt: i did not come prepared today to expect this question so i will have to take it for the record and get you information about where we are in terms of the pilot program. rep. bilirakis: thank you. any other

i'd also like to extend my sincere thank you you to and secretary mcdonald for sending dr. wayne feffer for the va pacific islands to represent your department during the most important holiday in hawaii flag day commemorating the 115th anniversary of the raising of the united states flag on our island. it meant the world to our island. i don't know if you're aware of the shortages of medical personnel affecting the services being provided in our va clinic back home in american samoa. for example, we have awedology equipment on hand in the clinic but no specialists to operate it. we also have brand new physical therapy equipment on hand but no pt specialists. so i'm wonldering how many if any of those new vha staff members you hired were for the va clinic in myrrh samoa. >> i'm not able to answer your question off the top of my head. i see dr. writing over here. i'm sure there are folks writing. we'll get you an answer back to let you know. and i'll also look into the vacancies in our clinic there. >> how can va improve the budget planning so that we can react to higher tha

dr. nee did you have a chance to visit with secretary mcdonald at all? >> yes, i had a meeting with him here in washington a while back, mostly to address the concern that i had with the oig report and the oig retaliation against people that come forward. he stated he would look into it and get back to me, which he has not. >> did you stay in touch with -- i know you are not still part of the va now and you are out in private practice? >> i am out in the praoeufivate sector working, correct. >> have you seen if there are any changes -- >> it has gotten worse at heinz. for the initial allegations that i brought fourth with the osc the osc wanted the oig to look into these again. i was interviewed in chicago in a two-hour interview by the oig, but they have refused to provide me with the transcript. they came up with the same conclusion that they did the first time, and subsequently the office of medical inspector was brought in. interestingly, the office of medical inspector has preliminary substantiated some allegations. unfortunately the people that cam

dr. tuchschmidt. you are recognized for your opening statement. i know you have charts with you. secretay mcdonald: if i may, i would like to start -- and i know you would agree with this -- i honoring our five service members who are senselessly killed in chattanooga. on behalf of all veterans, i extend my deepest condolences to their families, fellow servicemembers, and the friends who grieve their loss. we will never forget their service to our and the freedom that we so cherish. thanks to the chairman and the ranking member for joining your senate counterparts at our recent meeting at va central office pete i appreciate -- office. i appreciate continuing the dialogue so all americans could understand these issues. representing veterans are senior leaders of some of the most orton partners in military organizations. i want to thank them for being here as well. a year ago today at my senate confirmation hearing, i was charged to ensure their va the focus on providing veterans with the highest quality service that may have earned. i welcome that opportunity. last year i was working with a great a