A pathologist was reportedly "impaired" and misdiagnosed patients, which resulted in at least one death, according to CBS affiliate KFSM.
Officials with the Department of Veteran Affairs and the VA Medical Center in Fayetteville announced an investigation Monday.
According to Dr. Kevin L. Parks, interim director of the medical center, explained that a pathologist at the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks was "impaired" on March 22, 2016.
Parks said the person was removed from clinical care and was "deemed an excellent candidate of the impaired physician program." After a "successful completion of the program," the pathologist was reinstate on October 12, 2016.
The pathologist was then suspended a year later and another investigation found they were "unsafe to work." They were removed and fired, according to Parks.
The unnamed pathologist reportedly saw 19,794 patients during their employment. Parks said 5,250 of those patients have died since 2005 and those deaths are under review. Parks was unsure if any of the deaths were related to the pathologist's review.
Based on internal reviews, Parks said they have found seven cases of misdiagnosis by the unnamed pathologist.
The review of all the cases will focus on cases from October 2005 up until October 2018.
In a joint statement, Senators John Boozman and Tom Cotton along with Representatives Rick Crawford, French Hill, Steve Womack and Bruce Westerman said that the "alleged gross negligence by a physician charged with caring for our veterans is a disturbing revelation and a clear failure to uphold the Department of Veteran Affairs mission to the men and women who served our nation in uniform."
For those wanting more information on the investigation, you can call (866) 388-5428 or (479) 582-7995 on Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. You can also call on Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.