Patient help and resources

Need help? Contact a patient advocate

If you need help getting care or resolving an issue with VA, get help from one of our trained patient advocates.

Medical records office

Access your medical records online or request a copy of your records from our Release of Information office.

Billing and insurance

Pay your VA South Texas health care bill online, by phone, mail, or in person. You can also raise issues or address billing disputes.

Pharmacy

Find out how to refill your prescriptions, where to pick up new prescription orders, and how to safely dispose of your medicines.

Community Care

Contact the Community Care office for assistance with scheduling and care coordination, who to contact regarding a bill, and questions about prescriptions from a community provider. Click on the link below to download a copy of key phone numbers for the Community Care office.

Phone directory and mailing address

Find phone numbers for many of the administrative and program offices at South Texas Veterans Health Care System.

Mailing address

South Texas Veterans Health Care System
7400 Merton Minter Boulevard
San Antonio, TX 78229-4404

Main phone numbers

Phone: 877-469-5300

To use TeleType (TTY) services: dial 711.

Media and press

The Office of Public Affairs is the initial contact for reporters, producers, and other media representatives seeking information about South Texas Veterans Health Care System, its staff and patients.  The main number to the Office of Public Affairs is 210-617-5274.

After hours or on weekends, contact Mrs. Nenette Madla, Public Affairs Officer at 210-978-2002.

Support and assistance to members of the News Media and community organizations include:

•     Responding to Media Queries
•     Providing Subject Matter Experts
•     Scheduling and coordinating interviews
•     Fact sheets and statistical information
•     Images/video of our facilities and official Logos
•     Information about VA-related outreach and events

Note: Communicating with the public and other stakeholders about how we provide exceptional health care to Veterans is vital to the work we do. We make every attempt to assist News Media in their newsgathering, to provide access to our facilities, and to make expert resources available. Our top priority, however, is protecting the privacy and security of the patients we serve. To comply with patient privacy, the following forms must be completed by any patient interviewed, photographed or videotaped.

VA Form 10-5345 Privacy Release Form (dependent on the information gathered)

VA Form 10-3203 VA Consent Form

Setting Up Media Interviews

• Please contact the hospital Public Affairs Officer for media interviews at 210-978-2002 or email STXMedia@va.gov. Patients, in particular, must agree to be interviewed and photographed and must sign a consent form.  
• Advance notice of on-site interviews is necessary so public affairs staff may coordinate with appropriate staff member, location of media interview or photo shoot. 
• Media personnel should check-in with the Office of Public Affairs located on the 1st floor or VA Police upon arrival on VA grounds.

Visiting Our Facilities

We strictly adhere to federal guidelines regarding patient privacy as outlined by the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). To protect our patients' privacy, we require all reporters and photographers visiting our facilities to be escorted by a Public Affairs staff member. Media access may be limited or denied to any area of a facility at the discretion of the medical center director, the patients' health care team or individual physicians.

Congressional Inquiries

All Congressional Inquiries should be sent through email to: STVHCSCongressionals@va.gov along with a signed privacy release form.

Submit a FOIA request

Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), you have a right to federal agency records unless those records are protected from disclosure by specific exemptions or exclusions laid out in law.

Requesting records maintained by South Texas Veterans Health Care System

Fax: (210) 949-9567
Mail:  

South Texas Veterans Health Care System (136D)
Release of Information
7400 Merton Minter Boulevard
San Antonio, TX 78229-4404

For questions about your request to South Texas Veterans Health Care System

Phone: 210-617-5300, ext. 15610

Additional FOIA request information

• Review VA’s requirements for a FOIA request, including sample requests.

• See the VA FOIA Library, which publishes commonly requested records.

• If you don’t know where the records you are requesting are maintained, submit your request to vacofoiaservice@va.gov instead of VA South Texas.

Report an issue

Report suspected fraud or mismanagement

Contact the VA Office of the Inspector General (VAOIG) to report suspected criminal activity, fraud, inadequate patient care, or mismanagement of VA programs or government resources.

Phone: 800-488-8244

Mail:
VA Inspector General Hotline (53e)
810 Vermont Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20420

Learn more about the VA OIG hotline.

Report patient care or safety issues

If you have any concerns about the care and safety of patients or residents, the first step is to contact hospital management. If management did not address or resolve your concerns, contact the Joint Commission.

Submit a complaint online: https://www.jointcommission.org/report_a_complaint.aspx
Phone: 800-994-6610
Fax: 630-792-5636
Email: complaint@jointcommission.org

Mail:
Office of Quality Monitoring
The Joint Commission
One Renaissance Boulevard
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 6018