Sec. 202. Establishment of Office of the Medical Inspector of Department of Veterans Affairs
1,538 words·~7 min read·
/bill/118/s/2679/is/section-202·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Subchapter I of chapter 73 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 7306A, as added by section 102(a)(1) of this Act, the following new section: There is established in the Veterans Health Administration within the Office of Transparency, Engagement, Accountability, and Management under section 7306A of this title, or subsequent office of similar function, an office to be known as the Office of the Medical Inspector (in this section referred to as the Office ).
The Medical Inspector shall be the head of the Office. The Medical Inspector shall be appointed by the Secretary from among individuals qualified to perform the duties of the position. The Medical Inspector shall report directly to the Under Secretary for Health. The functions of the Office shall include the following: To review, including proactively, the quality, safety, outcomes, and delivery of, and access to, health care provided to veterans by the Department. To proactively review offices and facilities of the Veterans Health Administration that have an impact on the quality, safety, and delivery of, and access to, such care and the performance of the Department in providing such care.
To proactively review offices and facilities of the Veterans Health Administration to ensure that policies and procedures of the Department and the Veterans Health Administration are applied consistently at all such offices and facilities. To investigate, including proactively, the existence of any systemic health delivery, quality, safety, access, or related issues, as determined by the Medical Inspector, that arise within the Veterans Health Administration or through health care provided by the Department.
To establish temporary investigative teams to carry out reviews or investigations described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and
(4)in response to specific incidents or inquiries, including the following: Investigations of complaints by a veteran, a family member of a veteran, an employee of the Department, or another individual that may require a visit to a facility or facilities of the Department. Reviews or investigations upon request by the Secretary or the Under Secretary for Health. Reviews or investigations in response to information or requests by the Inspector General of the Department, the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection of the Department, the Special Counsel, the Comptroller General of the United States, a Member of Congress, and other related entities, as determined by the Secretary. Assessments to examine potential systemic health quality, safety, access, satisfaction, staffing, performance, and other issues within the Veterans Health Administration, including through the conduct of surveys, the collection and examination of data, and the analysis of databases. To recommend policies to promote efficiency in the administration of, and to prevent waste, abuse, and mismanagement in, programs and operations of the Veterans Health Administration. To carry out other related duties required of the Office by the Secretary or the Under Secretary for Health before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this section. To conduct coordination and open communication with the Inspector General of the Department, the Special Counsel, and the Comptroller General and to ensure those entities have the information required to perform their independent oversight functions. The Under Secretary and the Medical Inspector shall ensure that the Office has the following capabilities and internal controls to achieve effective operations of the Office: A modern electronic information technology database, system, or systems with a minimum of the following functions or capabilities: To perform modern case management activities, including tracking open cases, closed cases, trends, time to process, open recommendations, to whom a recommendation is directed (such as a facility or individual), and other similar activities of the Office. To track referrals of issues the Office declines to review but refers to other entities to review. To review all report recommendations of the Office for trends and issues throughout the Veterans Health Administration and alert leadership of the Veterans Health Administration for corrective and preventative action. Such other functions or capabilities as determined by the Under Secretary and the Medical Inspector. Consistent guidelines for how long facilities that have an open recommendation from the Office have to close such recommendation. Best practice guidelines on what set of management officials and processes are to be used to approve the closure of recommendations from the Office consistent with internal controls best practices of the Government Accountability Office. A staffing model and budget for the Office that is consistent with those of a health care system with a patient workload the size of that served by the Department. An organizational performance plan. In conducting a review under this section with respect to an individual serving in a Senior Executive Service position (as defined in section 3132(a) of title 5) or equivalent position in the Department, the Medical Inspector, and a limited number of personnel delegated by the Medical Inspector from within the Office, may request and receive from other relevant offices of the Department the complete hiring packet, package, or assembled paperwork and other information, including electronically stored information, that was submitted by a Federal agency on behalf of the individual when the individual was a candidate for such position. Access to information authorized under paragraph
(1)shall be secure, on a need to know basis, and provided with appropriate controls to protect privacy, whistleblower retaliation, and related matters. Any medical or other personal information obtained by the Office shall be protected from disclosure or misuse in accordance with the laws on privacy and whistleblower protection applicable to such information. . The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 7306A, as added by section 102(a)(2) of this Act, the following new item: 7306B. Office of the Medical Inspector. . Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Under Secretary for Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall determine and publish guidance requiring all internal offices, sub-offices, and other entities of the Department of Veterans Affairs reviewing a draft report by the Office of the Medical Inspector under section 7306B of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), for the purpose of concurrence by the Department with that report to provide feedback on that report to the Office not later than 15 business days after assignment for review of that report by the Office or another entity controlling or administering the concurrence process. Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary for Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Medical Inspector shall ensure that the Office of the Medical Inspector established under section 7306B of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), has the capabilities and internal controls specified in subsection
(d)of such section. The individual serving as the Medical Inspector of the Department of Veterans Affairs on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act may serve as the Medical Inspector of the Department of Veterans Affairs after that date until the date on which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs appoints an individual to be the Medical Inspector pursuant to section 7306B(b)(2) of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), which may include the appointment of the same individual. Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on the action plan of the Secretary to implement relevant recommendations of the Comptroller General of the United States contained in any review published by the Comptroller General in the previous three calendar years regarding the Office of the Medical Inspector of the Department of Veterans Affairs, including recommended short, medium, and long-term plans to establish the Office of the Medical Inspector pursuant to this section. The report required by paragraph
(1)shall include— specific plans, timelines, and status as of the date of the report of the actions of the Secretary to implement the recommendations contained in the report of the Comptroller General in 2023 regarding the Office of the Medical Inspector of the Department of Veterans Affairs; any requests for legislative action and resources to implement the provisions of this Act that relate to the Office of the Medical Inspector to ensure the effectiveness of the Office to handle the workload and caseload for an integrated health system with a veteran patient volume and medical workforce the size of that served by the Department; and such other matters as the Secretary considers necessary. The establishment of the Office of the Medical Inspector of the Department of Veterans Affairs under section 7306B of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), within the Office of Transparency, Engagement, Accountability, and Management under section 7306A of such title, as added by section 102(a)(1), is done for organizational efficiency and economies of scale but shall not be construed to indicate that the Office of the Medical Inspector or the Medical Inspector should report to any individual or entity other than the Under Secretary for Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs.