ADVOCACYVA program
VA Patient Advocate Program
Dedicated patient advocates at every VA medical center who help veterans navigate concerns, complaints, and barriers to care, acting as independent liaisons between veterans and VA facility leadership.
Step-by-step guide
What you get
A VA employee at your VA medical center whose job is to hear your concerns about VA care and work with staff to resolve them.
What the Patient Advocate needs
- Your treatment team heard it firstVA asks you to raise a compliment, suggestion, or concern with your treatment team first. If you disagree with your provider about your care, talk with your provider first. If you still have concerns, ask for the provider's supervisor or the Chief of the Service.
- Care at a VA health care facilityThe Patient Advocate works at your VA facility. VA care includes medical centers and community-based outpatient clinics.
What to gather, and what it shows VA
| Document | What it shows | How VA gets it | Have it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your own notes about the concern A short list you keep: the facility, the dates, the names of staff you spoke with, and the concern in plain words. | Who you raised it with, and when | You keep it and take it to the Patient Advocate at your VA facility. It stays with you and VA, not BeneVets. | |
| Rights and Responsibilities of VA Patients VA's written statement of your rights and responsibilities as a VA patient. | What VA staff must respect and support | It is posted at your VA facility. The Patient Advocate can give you a copy, and the VA Patient Advocate page links it. |
Your notes and health records stay between you and VA. BeneVets does not ask you to describe your care or send records here.
Steps, in order
- Talk with your treatment team
Your team includes your doctor, nurse, social worker, pharmacist, therapist, and others in your care. Start with them.
- If you disagree with your provider about care
Talk with your provider first. If you still have concerns, ask to speak with your provider's supervisor or the Chief of the Service.
- Contact the Patient Advocate at your facility
Find your VA medical center and its phone number with the VA.gov location finder, then ask for the Patient Advocate. Bring your notes: the facility, dates, and names.
Source: VA.gov: Patient Advocacy Program (opens in new tab); VA.gov: find VA locations (opens in new tab)
- Ask about a review
If the concern is still unresolved, ask the Patient Advocate whether an appeal for a review of your concern fits.
- For a benefit decision, get help with a decision review
A Patient Advocate handles care concerns. For a VA benefit decision you disagree with, VA lists decision reviews, and an accredited VSO can help you request a decision review. Free help: an accredited VSO can file this with you. Find one near you in the BeneVets VSO directory at Find an accredited VSO near you.
Source: VA.gov: accredited representatives (opens in new tab); VA.gov: decision reviews and appeals (opens in new tab)
Good to know
Still unresolved after your treatment team and the supervisor? The Patient Advocate can help you ask for a review of your concern, when that fits.
If you disagree with a decision your VA care team made about your treatment or care, VA lists a Clinical Appeal.
Source: VA.gov: decision reviews and appeals (opens in new tab)
VA posts the Rights and Responsibilities of VA Patients in outpatient and inpatient areas. The Patient Advocate can give you a copy. There is a separate one for family members.
After a visit, VA may mail you a confidential survey about your care. You can also send feedback online through Ask VA.
Source: VA.gov: Patient Advocacy Program (opens in new tab); VA.gov: contact us (opens in new tab)
The Veterans Crisis Line is open 24/7. Dial 988, then select 1.
BeneVets is informational and is not an accredited representative. Free help: an accredited VSO can work through VA benefits with you at no cost. Find an accredited VSO near you
Sources checked October 8, 2026: VA.gov: Patient Advocacy Program (opens in new tab), VA.gov: find VA locations (opens in new tab), VA.gov: contact us (opens in new tab), VA.gov: helpful VA phone numbers (opens in new tab), VA.gov: decision reviews and appeals (opens in new tab), VA.gov: accredited representatives (opens in new tab)