Recommendations
2128
| ID | Report Number | Report Title | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20-00421-63 | VBA Did Not Consistently Comply with Skills Certification Mandates for Compensation and Pension Claims Processors | Review | ||
1 The under secretary for benefits creates written guidelines for tracking, identifying, notifying, registering, and exempting individuals required to take skills certification tests.
Closure Date:
2 The under secretary for benefits establishes a tracking mechanism to ensure all eligible individuals required to take tests are identified and notified of testing dates at least 30 days prior to test administration.
Closure Date:
3 The under secretary for benefits provides an update to the plan submitted to Congress explaining why all employees and supervisors who have claims-processing functions listed in the original plan are not subject to skills certification testing.
Closure Date:
4 The under secretary for benefits implements a plan to ensure staff who failed their most recent skills certification test and remain in the same position are provided training from individual training plans to remediate the deficiencies in their skills and competencies.
Closure Date:
5 The under secretary for benefits establishes an oversight plan to ensure training set out in approved training plans is provided to individuals who fail skills certification tests.
Closure Date:
6 The under secretary for benefits notifies Congress of plans to take personnel actions against individuals who fail consecutive skills certification tests after remediation for the same positions in compliance with the Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012.
Closure Date:
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| 19-06902-23 | The Office of Community Care’s Oversight of Non-VA Healthcare Claims Processed by Its Contractor | Audit | ||
1 The OIG recommended the under secretary for health ensures the Payment Operations and Management directorate reevaluates all sample claims identified in this audit as not processed in accordance with Office of Community Care guidance, and takes appropriate corrective action as needed.
Closure Date:
2 The OIG recommended the under secretary for health ensures there is a contract requirement that the contractor’s employees must follow Office of Community Care guidance for processing non-VA care claims.
Closure Date:
3 The OIG recommended the under secretary for health ensures the contractor’s standard operating procedures for claims processing are accurate and a mechanism is put in place to keep the contractor’s procedures updated to reflect current Office of Community Care claims processing procedures.
Closure Date:
4 The OIG recommended the under secretary for health ensures the Office of Community Care develops and implements clear controls for reviewing and updating, if necessary, the quality assurance surveillance plan requirements at least annually
Closure Date:
5 The OIG recommended the under secretary for health ensures the Payment Operations and Management personnel make full use of the established communication tracking tool.
Closure Date:
6 The OIG recommended the under secretary for health ensures the Payment Operations and Management leaders provide timely training and additional guidance to their staff and the contractor’s employees on applying and using standardized denial and rejection reasons, and employees follow procedures to process claims with no authorizations to ensure consistent and accurate claims processing.
Closure Date:
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| 20-00563-68 | Mammography Program Deficiencies and Patient Results Communication at the Washington DC VA Medical Center | Hotline Healthcare Inspection | ||
1 The Washington DC VA Medical Center Director evaluates documentation processes for entering the Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System as primary diagnostic codes in the electronic health record and takes actions as necessary.
Closure Date:
2 The Washington DC VA Medical Center Director evaluates the processes for notification of mammography exam results by ordering providers and takes actions as necessary.
Closure Date:
3 The Washington DC VA Medical Center Director fully implements action plans for all issues listed in the September 2019 National Radiology Program Office site visit and monitors to completion.
Closure Date:
4 The National Radiology Program Office ensures mammography programs have a comprehensive standard operating procedure manual and confirms compliance.
Closure Date:
5 The Washington DC VA Medical Center Director develops and implements a comprehensive standard operating procedure manual covering critical technical, clerical, and administrative functions for the facility’s Mammography Program.
Closure Date:
6 The Washington DC VA Medical Center Director evaluates the oversight and training processes for the facility’s Mammography Program medical support assistant and takes actions as necessary.
Closure Date:
7 The Washington DC VA Medical Center Director evaluates mammography technology staff training processes and takes actions to ensure mammography technology staff receive training through a formalized program.
Closure Date:
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| 19-07053-51 | Biologic Implant Purchasing, Inventory Management, and Tracking Need Improvement | Audit | ||
1 Provide clarifying guidance and controls to clinic staff on making determinations to send purchase requests and consult notifications to the appropriate purchasing agents.
Closure Date:
2 Provide clarifying guidance to purchasing agents on how to effectively evaluate biologic implant purchase requests for the correct funding source.
Closure Date:
3 Provide clarifying guidance to prosthetic agents to ensure they receive clinic staff consult notifications on all prosthetic purchases of biologic implants.
Closure Date:
4 Create a biologic implant cost code for general-purpose funds to improve funding accountability and potentially assist in ensuring all biologic implant use is tracked.
Closure Date:
5 Direct the Procurement and Logistics Office to clarify guidance on the use of an approved inventory management system specific to biologic implants and the related VHA network, office, and facility staff responsibilities.
Closure Date:
6 Monitor facility compliance with the use of an approved inventory management system for completeness and accuracy.
7 Direct the Procurement and Logistics Office to ensure logistics staff perform inventory reviews of biologic implants, as required.
Closure Date:
8 Monitor medical facility compliance with required reviews of on-site inventory.
Closure Date:
9 Establish a structure for oversight responsibility that can provide guidance for tracking implanted biologics.
Closure Date:
10 Create policies and procedures for facilities to follow as they implement effective controls for tracking biologic implants.
Closure Date:
11 Establish standardized systems and requirements for facility staff to appropriately record necessary biologic implant attributes for accurate and accessible tracking of recipients to advance patient safety.
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| 20-02959-62 | Reporting and Monitoring Personal Protective Equipment Inventory during the Pandemic | Review | ||
1 Provide specific guidance for personnel in facilities and Veterans Integrated Service Network offices to report expired personal protective equipment supplies into the Response Monitoring Tool and refine the tool to allow the entry of expired supply levels on hand.
Closure Date:
2 Communicate effective verification measures for facilities and Veterans Integrated Service Networks to improve the reliability and consistency of reported personal protective equipment on-hand quantity and usage information.
Closure Date:
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| 20-00295-61 | VA Needs Better Internal Communication and Data Sharing to Strengthen the Administration of Spina Bifida Benefits | Review | ||
1 The OIG recommended that the under secretary for benefits and the under secretary for health formalize interagency sharing processes between the Veterans Benefits Administration’s Denver regional office and the Veterans Health Administration’s Office of Community Care on how data and information will be shared between both offices to prevent payments from continuing to deceased spina bifida beneficiaries.
Closure Date:
2 The OIG recommended that the under secretary for benefits and the under secretary for health take the following actions establish clear written guidance on sharing beneficiary data between the Veterans Benefits Administration’s Denver regional office and the Veterans Health Administration’s Office of Community Care to ensure all entitled beneficiaries are enrolled in health care.
Closure Date:
3 The OIG recommended that the under secretary for benefits institute standardized procedures to help the Veterans Benefits Administration’s national call center agents provide accurate and comprehensive information about spina bifida benefits.
Closure Date:
4 The OIG recommended that the under secretary for health direct the Veterans Health Administration’s Office of Community Care to develop a process to ensure those beneficiaries who are not using the services for which they are eligible, or need assistance with locating those services, receive them.
Closure Date:
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| 19-09129-76 | VHA’s Response following Cardiac Catheterization Lab Closure at the Samuel S. Stratton VA Medical Center in Albany, New York | Hotline Healthcare Inspection | ||
1 The Under Secretary for Health should publish written guidance that clarifies roles and responsibilities of the national Cardiology program office, Veterans Integrated Service Networks, and Chief Medical Officers to review and opine on interventional cardiologist applicant’s qualifications for employment in those cases when facilities lack local interventional cardiology expertise and the facility’s Chief of Staff seeks subject matter expert opinion.
Closure Date:
2 The Veterans Integrated Service Network Director reviews circumstances that led to the failure
to respond to an OIG request for additional information and alters the person-dependent process
accordingly to ensure future OIG referrals are responded to timely and completely.
Closure Date:
3 The Veterans Integrated Service Network Director reviews circumstances that led to the failure to respond to an OIG request for additional information and alters the person-dependent process accordingly to ensure future OIG referrals are responded to timely and completely.
Closure Date:
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| 18-00972-38 | Insufficient Oversight for Issuing Prosthetic Supplies and Devices | Audit | ||
1 Ensure Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service business practice guidelines include specific requirements for conducting and properly documenting reviews of cloned and pending consults.
Closure Date:
2 Ensure Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service staff develop a process to verify that consults include accessory and consumable supplies for prosthetic items prior to issuance.
Closure Date:
3 Ensure Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service establishes field consistency requirements for conducting program reviews and evaluations.
Closure Date:
4 Ensure the executive director of the Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service complies with existing policy for reviewing program assessments and evaluations and communicates review and evaluation results to the regional prosthetic representatives.
Closure Date:
Total Monetary Impact of All Recommendations
Open: $0
Closed: $79,200,000
Total: $79,200,000
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| 20-00339-69 | Communication of Test Results and Oncology Scheduling Concerns at the Beckley VA Medical Center in West Virginia | Hotline Healthcare Inspection | ||
1 The Beckley VA Medical Center Director ensures that primary care providers comply with communicating laboratory test results to patients and documenting the discussion in accordance with Veterans Health Administration policy.
Closure Date:
2 The Beckley VA Medical Center Director ensures that the oncologist complies with facility scheduling and ordering policies including the Primary Care and Oncology Service Agreement.
Closure Date:
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| 20-01036-70 | Misconduct by a Gynecological Provider at the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System in Biloxi, Mississippi | Hotline Healthcare Inspection | ||
1 The Under Secretary for Health initiates review of policies related to the role and training requirements of providers, including gynecologists, who conduct sensitive exams, to determine the need for the inclusion of trauma-informed care principles into training, policy, and practice.
Closure Date:
2 The Under Secretary for Health ensures a review of policies related to the role and training requirements of chaperones for sensitive examinations and takes action as appropriate.
3 The South Central VA Health Care Network Director evaluates processes for tracking patient complaints, takes appropriate action to ensure that facility staff enter all complaints into the Patient Advocate Tracking System, and ensures that the data are tracked, trended, and analyzed to identify significant issues and trends.
Closure Date:
4 The Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System Director ensures staff education of the Veterans Health Administration and Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System policies related to employee misconduct and monitors compliance.
Closure Date:
5 The Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System Director reviews and evaluates policies related to administrative investigations, including fact-finding reviews and administrative investigation boards, to ensure such investigations are timely, objective, and documentation is sufficient to address the event under review.
Closure Date:
6 The Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System Director and facility leaders review the subject gynecologist’s conduct and quality of care provided and meet all Veterans Health Administration requirements for state licensing board and National Practitioner Data Bank reporting.
Closure Date:
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15333