Recommendations
2065
| ID | Report Number | Report Title | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17-02375-50 | Administrative Investigation – Improper Locality Pay, Office of the General Counsel, Pacific District South, Phoenix, Arizona | Administrative Investigation | ||
1 We recommend that the General Counsel determine whether Ms. (redacted) official duty station from July 2016 to December 2016 was Phoenix or Los Angeles.
Closure Date:
2 We recommend that if the General Counsel determines Ms. (redacted) official duty station from July 2016 to December 2016 was Phoenix, determine the total amount of locality pay improperly paid to her, and issue her a bill of collection in that amount.
Closure Date:
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| 16-02552-49 | Administrative Investigation – Improper Relocation Allowance and Market Pay, Veterans Health Administration, Washington, DC | Administrative Investigation | ||
1 We recommend that the Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Operations and Management confer with the Offices of Human Resources and General Counsel to determine the appropriate administrative action to take, if any, against Dr. West.
Closure Date:
2 We recommend that the Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Operations and Management confer with the Offices of Human Resources and General Counsel to determine the appropriate administrative action to take, if any, against Dr. Lynch.
Closure Date:
3 We recommend that the Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Operations and Management confer with the Offices of General Counsel and Human Resources and issue Dr. West a bill of collection in the amount of $19,800 to reimburse VA for the lump sum TQSE payment he received but did not incur.
Closure Date:
4 We recommend that the Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Operations and Management confer with the Offices of General Counsel and Human Resources and issue Dr. West a bill of collection in the amount of $55,434 to reimburse VA for the increase salary he received based on Washington, DC, market pay, from September 2013 to October 2016, when he was actually located in Salt Lake City, UT.
Closure Date:
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| 15-03036-47 | Audit of VHA’s Timeliness and Accuracy of Choice Payments Processed Through FBCS | Audit | ||
1 We recommended the Executive in Charge, Veterans Health Administration, develop and issue written payment policies to guide staff processing medical claims received from Third Party Administrators, as well as establish expectations and obligations for the Third Party Administrators that submit invoices for payment.
Closure Date:
2 We recommended the Executive in Charge, Veterans Health Administration, ensure payment processing staff have access to documentation from the Third Party Administrators verifying amounts paid to providers to ensure the Third Party Administrators are not billing VA more than they paid the provider for medical claims.
Closure Date:
3 We recommended the Executive in Charge, Veterans Health Administration, ensure Veterans Health Administration payment staff have access to accurate data regarding veterans’ other health insurance coverage and establish appropriate processes for collecting payments from these health insurers.
Closure Date:
4 We recommended the Executive in Charge, Veterans Health Administration, ensure the new payment processing systems used for processing medical claims from Third Party Administrators have the ability to adjudicate reimbursement rates accurately and to ensure duplicate claims are not paid.
Closure Date:
5 We recommended the Executive in Charge, Veterans Health Administration, ensure VA performs post-payment audits on a periodic basis to determine if payments made to Third Party Administrators for medical care are accurate.
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6 We recommended the Executive in Charge, Veterans Health Administration, ensure that Office of Community Care staff and members of VA’s Office of General Counsel continue to work collaboratively with relevant Government authorities to review and determine an appropriate process for reimbursement.
Closure Date:
7 We recommended the Executive in Charge, Veterans Health Administration, ensure the Veterans Health Administration has sufficient claims processing capacity to timely meet and process expected claim volume from the Third Party Administrators.
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8 We recommended the Executive in Charge, Veterans Health Administration, ensure that future contracts with Third Party Administrators contain payment timeliness standards for the processing of claims from health care providers.
Closure Date:
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| 17-01849-42 | Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program Review of the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center, Detroit, Michigan | Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program | ||
1 The Chief of Staff ensures clinical managers consistently collect and review Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation data every 6 months and monitors the managers’ compliance.
Closure Date:
2 The Chief of Staff and Associate Director for Patient Care Services ensure clinicians consistently provide specific education to patients with newly prescribed anticoagulant medications and monitor clinicians’ compliance.
Closure Date:
3 The Associate Director for Patient Care Services ensures clinical managers include in competency assessments of employees actively involved in the anticoagulant program knowledge of standard terminology, pharmacology of anticoagulants, monitoring requirements, dose calculation, common side effects, nutrient interactions associated with anticoagulation therapy, and drug to drug interactions associated with anticoagulation therapy, and the Associate Director for Patient Care Services monitors managers’ compliance.
Closure Date:
4 The Associate Director ensures core team members consistently attend environment of care rounds and monitors compliance.
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5 The Associate Director ensures damaged furnishings in patient care areas are repaired or removed from service.
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6 The Associate Director ensures panic alarms at the Veterans Community Resource and Referral Center are tested and testing is documented and monitors compliance.
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7 The Associate Director ensures radiation shields and aprons have evidence of periodic inspection and testing for integrity and monitors compliance.
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8 The Associate Director ensures radiology equipment consistently receives annual inspection by a medical physicist and monitors compliance.
Closure Date:
9 The Associate Director ensures Interdisciplinary Safety Inspection Team members receive annual training on how to identify and correct environmental hazards, including the proper use of the Mental Health Environment of Care Checklist, and monitors team members’ compliance.
Closure Date:
10 The Chief of Staff ensures social workers and registered nurses conduct cyclical clinical visits with the frequency required by Veterans Health Administration policy for community nursing home oversight and monitors their compliance.
Closure Date:
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| 15-05447-383 | Review of Alleged Mismanagement of VA’s Real Time Location System Project | Audit | ||
1 The OIG recommended that the Acting Under Secretary for Health, in conjunction with the Acting Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology, apply additional resources and implement improved integrated project management controls for the remainder of the Real Time Location System project to restrict further cost increases.
Closure Date:
2 The OIG recommended that the Acting Under Secretary for Health, in conjunction with the Acting Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology, enforce the use of incremental project management controls, such as those used within the Veteran-focused Integration Process, on all remaining Real Time Location System task orders to ensure such efforts will provide an adequate return on investment.
Closure Date:
3 The OIG recommended the Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Information and Technology ensure that risk assessments are conducted on future Real Time Location System deployments to identify potential risks and vulnerabilities that may adversely affect other VA systems.
Closure Date:
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| 16-00471-10 | Audit of VHA's Alleged Beneficiary Travel Processing Irregularities at the VAMC in Phoenix, Arizona | Audit | ||
1 We recommended the Director of the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center develop and implement written procedures requiring Beneficiary Travel Program and Fiscal Service staff to perform appropriate actions in response to electronic alerts notifying them of potential duplicate claims and payments.
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2 We recommended the Director of the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center develop and implement a quality review program to routinely ensure Beneficiary Travel Program staff document and use physical addresses when calculating mileage reimbursements.
Closure Date:
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| 17-01850-38 | Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program Review of the VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System, Topeka, Kansas | Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program | ||
1 The Chief of Staff ensures clinical managers consistently review Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation data every 6 months and monitors the managers’ compliance.
Closure Date:
2 The Chief of Staff ensures Physician Utilization Management Advisors consistently document their decisions in the National Utilization Management Integration database and monitors the advisors’ compliance.
Closure Date:
3 The Chief of Staff ensures clinicians consistently provide specific education to all patients with newly prescribed anticoagulant medications and monitors clinicians’ compliance.
Closure Date:
4 The Assistant Director ensures all Interdisciplinary Safety Inspection Team members receive annual training on how to identify and correct environmental hazards, including the proper use of the Mental Health Environment of Care Checklist, and monitors compliance.
Closure Date:
5 The Chief of Staff and Associate Director for Patient Care Services ensure social workers and registered nurses conduct and document cyclical clinical visits with the frequency required by Veterans Health Administration policy for community nursing home oversight and monitors their compliance.
Closure Date:
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| 17-01752-32 | Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program Review of the Bath VA Medical Center, Bath, New York | Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program | ||
1 The Chief of Staff ensures clinical managers consistently review Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation data every 6 months and monitors the managers’ compliance.
Closure Date:
2 The Chief of Staff ensures that Physician Utilization Management Advisors consistently document their decisions in the National Utilization Management Integration database and monitors the advisors’ compliance.
Closure Date:
3 The Chief of Staff ensures clinicians consistently provide specific education to patients with newly prescribed anticoagulant medications and monitors clinicians’ compliance.
Closure Date:
4 The Associate Director ensures all areas of the facility are inspected at the required frequency and monitors compliance.
Closure Date:
5 The Associate Director ensures core team members consistently attend environment of care rounds and monitors compliance.
Closure Date:
6 The Associate Director ensures that an inventory of the required number of filled oxygen tanks is maintained at the Wellsboro VA Clinic and monitors compliance.
Closure Date:
7 The Associate Director ensures that an adequate supply of personal protective equipment (masks, gloves, gowns, and goggles) is available for employees at the Wellsboro VA Clinic and monitors compliance.
Closure Date:
8 The Associate Director ensures that clean and sterile supplies are stored on supply room carts that have solid bottom shelves at the Wellsboro VA Clinic and monitors compliance.
Closure Date:
9 The Chief of Staff ensures that Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program employees conduct and document monthly self-inspections, weekly contraband inspections, every 2-hour rounds of all public spaces, and daily resident room inspections for unsecured medications and monitors employees’ compliance.
Closure Date:
10 The Chief of Staff ensures that Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program managers ensure the main point of entry has a keyless system and monitors compliance.
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11 The Chief of Staff ensures that Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program managers ensure all non-main entrance doors are locked to prevent unauthorized entry and alarmed at all times and monitors compliance.
Closure Date:
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| 15-03364-380 | Audit of VHA’s Management of Primary Care Panels | Audit | ||
1 The OIG recommended the Acting Under Secretary for Health establish standardized primary care scheduling processes that provide newly enrolled veterans an opportunity to schedule an appointment at the time of enrollment.
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2 The OIG recommended the Acting Under Secretary for Health establish metrics to monitor the time it takes facilities to offer scheduling for an initial primary care appointment, beginning with the date the veteran submits a completed enrollment form.
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3 The OIG recommended the Acting Under Secretary for Health improve oversight by ensuring facilities set panel sizes consistent with VHA’s recommended model panel sizes, submit written justification for panel sizes that deviate from VHA’s model panel sizes for review and approval by VHA, or implement corrective action to mandate appropriate panel size.
Closure Date:
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| 17-00397-364 | Review of Alleged Appeals Data Manipulation at the VA Regional Office, Roanoke, Virginia | Audit | ||
1 The OIG recommended the Roanoke VA Regional Office Director conduct a review to identify prematurely closed appeals records, confer with appropriate VBA officials to determine the proper corrective actions to take, if any, and provide certification of completion of the review to the Office of Inspector General.
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2 The OIG recommended the Roanoke VA Regional Office Director confer with Regional Counsel to determine what steps to take, if any, with regard to management or staff involved in the conduct discussed in this report.
Closure Date:
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14957