Recommendations
2065
| ID | Report Number | Report Title | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21-03853-174 | Financial Efficiency Review of the VA Boston Healthcare System in Massachusetts | Financial Inspection | ||
1 Ensure that healthcare system finance office staff are made aware of policy requirements and that reviews are conducted on all inactive open obligations, and deobligate any identified excess funds as required by VA Financial Policy, vol. 2, chap. 5, “Obligations Policy.”
Closure Date:
2 Ensure cardholders comply with record retention requirements as stated in VA’s Financial Policy, vol. XVI, “Charge Card Programs.”
Closure Date:
3 Establish controls to confirm approving officials and purchase cardholders review their purchases and make sure contracting is used when it is in the best interest of the government.
Closure Date:
4 Require purchase cardholders to submit a request for ratification for any unauthorized commitments identified.
Closure Date:
5 Ensure quarterly purchase card audits are performed as required by the Veterans Health Administration’s standard operating procedure, “Internal Audits—Purchase Cards and Convenience Checks.”
Closure Date:
6 Ensure supply chain management staff implement a plan to improve data reliability within the Generic Inventory Package system.
Closure Date:
7 Ensure the chief of supply chain management signs quarterly physical inventory memorandums of “A” classified items and makes them available to Veterans Integrated Service Network personnel as required in the VHA’s Directive 1761 Supply Chain Management Operations.
Closure Date:
8 Develop and implement a plan to increase inventory turnover to meet the level recommended by the Veterans Health Administration Pharmacy Benefits Management Office.
Closure Date:
| ||||
| 21-03195-189 | Pharmacists’ Practices Delayed Buprenorphine Refills for Patients with Opioid Use Disorder at the New Mexico VA Health Care System in Albuquerque | Hotline Healthcare Inspection | ||
1 The New Mexico VA Health Care System Director ensures that facility practice is consistent with Veterans Health Administration and facility policy applicable to early refills of buprenorphine for patients receiving opioid agonist therapy for opioid use disorder and is consistent with evidence-based treatment and prescribing providers’ clinical rationale, ensures all relevant staff are educated on the policy, and monitors for compliance with policy.
Closure Date:
2 The New Mexico VA Health Care System Director ensures communication between provider, pharmacist, and patient for early medication refills and monitors for compliance with Veterans Health Administration policy.
Closure Date:
3 The New Mexico VA Health Care System Director clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the Opioid Safety Committee as related to buprenorphine treatment for patients with opioid use disorder, and ensures relevant staff are educated regarding the Opioid Safety Committee’s role in buprenorphine treatment.
Closure Date:
4 The New Mexico VA Health Care System Director reviews buprenorphine prescribing provider concerns regarding the Opioid Agonist Therapy (Buprenorphine) for Opioid Use Disorder standard operating procedure and ensures the planned revision and implementation of the standard operating procedure is consistent with evidence-based treatment and includes language that specifies allowance for clinical judgment and a patient-centered care approach.
Closure Date:
5 The New Mexico VA Health Care System Director reviews prescribing provider staffing levels in accordance with the Substance Use Disorder program’s needs and facility’s plans for expanding buprenorphine treatment in other clinical areas, and develops an action plan to address recommendations, if any, from the staffing level review.
Closure Date:
| ||||
| 21-01898-152 | VA Medical Facilities Took Steps to Safeguard Refrigerated Pharmaceuticals but Could Further Reduce the Risk of Loss | Audit | ||
1 Direct the assistant under secretary for health operations to reinforce to medical facility directors the importance of establishing a process to ensure facility managers include pharmaceutical refrigerators and freezers in the facility’s routine maintenance schedules and develop and implement a procedure to make sure medical facilities follow VHA Notice 2021-16.
Closure Date:
2 Require the assistant under secretary for patient care services to coordinate with the assistant under secretary for health operations to update the 10N Guide to VHA Issue Briefs and clarify that medical facilities must report all refrigerated pharmaceutical loss via the issue brief tracker.
Closure Date:
| ||||
| 21-03201-185 | Failure of Leaders to Address Safety, Staffing, and Environment of Care Concerns at the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center in Alabama | Hotline Healthcare Inspection | ||
1 The Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center Director provides oversight of the purchase and installation of an electronic alarm system for all Community Living Center neighborhoods and cottages and confirms ongoing monitoring of its use after installation.
Closure Date:
2 The Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center Director confirms completion of the risk analysis recommended in the facility-initiated risk assessment to determine if the Azalea House is suitable for the patient population residing there.
Closure Date:
3 The Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center Director ensures that all security cameras are operable and labeled appropriately and develops and monitors a plan for ongoing testing and maintenance.
Closure Date:
4 The Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center Director directs staff to assess the effectiveness of the outdoor fencing and gates surrounding Azalea House as a security measure to prevent Community Living Center residents at-risk for elopement from leaving the facility campus.
Closure Date:
5 The Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center Director establishes a review process to ensure that Community Living Center residents determined to be high risk for elopement have documentation consistent with Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center policy in their electronic health records identifying residents’ risk status.
Closure Date:
6 The Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center Director collaborates with the Veterans Integrated Service Network 7 Senior Strategic Business Partner to determine difficult to fill job series and develops a plan to maximize use of available tools for coverage, recruitment, and retention.
Closure Date:
7 The Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center Director ensures completion of a review of the facility’s Comprehensive Environment of Care program to confirm that patient care areas are properly classified, all areas are inspected at the required frequency, and compliance is monitored.
Closure Date:
8 The Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center Director coordinates with subject matter experts and develops a plan to ensure that the facility’s Comprehensive Environment of Care program effectively identifies areas in need of attention to provide a clean and safe environment for patients, visitors, and staff.
Closure Date:
9 The Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center Director confirms that Engineering Service staff conduct rounds of the grounds according to Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center policy.
Closure Date:
10 The VA Southeast Network 7 Director ensures completion of the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center’s action plan to address recommendations made as a result of the October 2021 Veterans Integrated Service Network site visit.
Closure Date:
| ||||
| 21-03349-186 | Multiple Failures in Test Results Follow-up for a Patient Diagnosed with Prostate Cancer at the Hampton VA Medical Center in Virginia | Hotline Healthcare Inspection | ||
1 The Hampton VA Medical Center Director ensures that providers communicate, act on, and document a review of test results consistent with Veterans Health Administration policy.
Closure Date:
2 The Hampton VA Medical Center Director determines why the abnormal prostate-specific-antigen test results were not alerted to an ordering or surrogate provider and if other patient test results during that time frame also warrant review.
Closure Date:
3 The Hampton VA Medical Center Director ensures that abnormal test results are timely communicated to providers or providers’ surrogates.
Closure Date:
4 The Hampton VA Medical Center Director reviews the urology consult template and, if appropriate, ensures the specific imaging required for consultation is specified in the template.
Closure Date:
5 The Hampton VA Medical Center Director ensures that procedures are in place to identify and reduce errors when staff place nuclear medicine orders.
Closure Date:
6 The Hampton VA Medical Center Director ensures that facility staff submit patient safety reports consistent with Veterans Health Administration and Hampton VA Medical Center policy.
Closure Date:
7 The Hampton VA Medical Center Director ensures that quality management staff initiate timely quality reviews when deficiencies in patient care are identified.
Closure Date:
| ||||
| 22-00576-178 | Review of VA’s Compliance with the Payment Integrity Information Act for Fiscal Year 2021 | Review | ||
1 The acting under secretary for health take necessary measures to reduce improper and unknown payments to below 10 percent for Beneficiary Travel, Medical Care Contracts and Agreements, Purchased Long-Term Services and Supports, and VA Community Care programs and activities.
Closure Date:
| ||||
| 21-03080-142 | Mission Accountability Support Tracker Lacked Sufficient Security Controls | Review | ||
1 The OIG recommends the Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology develop controls to help ensure minor applications are not misclassified as assets and undergo the appropriate security accreditation and certification process.
Closure Date:
2 The OIG recommends the Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology in conjunction with the Under Secretary for Benefits, make certain that appropriate security and privacy controls are implemented during the development of information technology systems before being hosted on VA’s network.
Closure Date:
3 The OIG recommends the Under Secretary for Benefits, in conjunction with the Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology, establish a mechanism to gain assurance that proper Office of Information Technology project management processes and protocols are followed when establishing information technology systems and applications.
4 The OIG recommends the Under Secretary for Benefits establish policies and procedures to ensure the Mission Accountability Support Tracker is used appropriately and does not contain unnecessary personally identifiable information.
Closure Date:
| ||||
| 21-00288-175 | Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection of the Washington DC VA Medical Center | Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program | ||
1 The Executive Director evaluates and determines reasons for noncompliance and ensures leaders identify adverse events as sentinel events when criteria are met and conduct institutional disclosures as required.
Closure Date:
2 The Executive Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and designates a systems redesign and improvement coordinator.
Closure Date:
3 The Executive Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain that credentialing staff complete primary source verification of all registered nurses’ licenses prior to initial appointment.
Closure Date:
4 The Associate Director, Clinical Services evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures staff complete mandatory suicide safety plan training prior to developing suicide safety plans.
Closure Date:
5 The Associate Director, Clinical Services and Associate Director, Patient Care Services evaluate and determine reasons for noncompliance and ensure staff monitor and evaluate all inter-facility transfers as part of VHA’s Quality Management Program.
Closure Date:
6 The Associate Director, Patient Care Services evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures nurse-to-nurse communication occurs between sending and receiving facilities.
Closure Date:
7 The Executive Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures Employee Threat Assessment Team meetings are held and members complete training, as required.
Closure Date:
8 The Associate Director, Clinical Services and Associate Director, Patient Care Services evaluate and determine any additional reasons for noncompliance and make certain that required members attend Disruptive Behavior Committee meetings.
Closure Date:
9 The Executive Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures employees complete all required prevention and management of disruptive behavior training based on the risk level assigned to their work areas.
Closure Date:
| ||||
| 21-02197-165 | Financial Efficiency Review of the VA El Paso Healthcare System in Texas and New Mexico | Financial Inspection | ||
1 Ensure healthcare system finance office staff are made aware of policy requirements for open obligations and the responsible healthcare system finance office conducts reviews on all open obligations as required by VA Financial Policies and Procedures, Volume II, Chapter 5, “Obligations Policy,” October 2020.
Closure Date:
2 Establish procedures to ensure cardholders comply with record retention and transaction-processing requirements as stated in VA’s Financial Policy, vol. XVI, “Charge Card Program.”
Closure Date:
3 Develop a plan to work with the prime vendor to address having adequate stock to meet orders, reducing the need for the healthcare system to use nonprime vendors.
Closure Date:
4 Ensure the healthcare system follows the Medical Surgical Prime Vendor-Next Generation ordering hierarchy and purchases items from the Medical Surgical Prime Vendor-Next Generation contract before using other sources.
Closure Date:
5 Ensure the healthcare system elects and is granted a delivery method that meets just-in-time requirements.
Closure Date:
6 Ensure the healthcare system submits Medical Surgical Prime Vendor-Next Generation waiver requests and obtains approval before purchasing available formulary items from nonprime vendor sources.
Closure Date:
7 Ensure logistics staff and contracting officer’s representatives use all the tools available to inform the Medical Supplies Program Office and Strategic Acquisition Center of prime vendor performance issues.
Closure Date:
8 Develop formalized processes for achieving identified efficiency targets and use available pharmacy data to make business decisions.
Closure Date:
9 Educate non-VA providers on prescribing lower-cost drugs.
Closure Date:
10 Develop and implement a plan to increase inventory turnover to the Veterans Health Administration-recommended level.
Closure Date:
11 Develop and implement a plan to complete facility-based inventory audits of noncontrolled drug line items in compliance with Veterans Health Administration policy.
Closure Date:
12 Develop a plan to ensure that appropriate metrics for monitoring compliance with Veterans Health Administration policy are calculated correctly in the Pharmacy Benefits Management inventory reporting tool.
Closure Date:
| ||||
| 21-00283-173 | Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection of the VA Maryland Health Care System in Baltimore | Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program | ||
1 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines additional reasons for noncomplianceand ensures that peer reviewers use at least one of the nine aspects of care forevaluations.
Closure Date:
2 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons fornoncompliance and ensures that the Peer Review Committee recommendsimprovement actions for Level 3 peer reviews.
Closure Date:
3 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons fornoncompliance and makes certain that the Peer Review Committee completes finalpeer reviews within 120 calendar days from the date it is determined a peer reviewis required, or the System Director approves any necessary extensions in writing.
Closure Date:
4 The Chief of Staff and Associate Director for Patient Care Services evaluate and determine any additional reasons for noncompliance and make certain that staff monitor and evaluate all transfers as part of VHA’s Quality Management Program.
Closure Date:
5 The Chief of Staff and Associate Director for Patient Care Services evaluate anddetermine any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensure that transferringproviders complete all elements of the VA Inter-Facility Transfer Form or afacility-defined equivalent note in the electronic health record.
Closure Date:
6 The Chief of Staff and Associate Director for Patient Care Services evaluate and determine any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensure that transferring providers send patients’ active medication lists to receiving facilities during inter-facility transfers.
Closure Date:
7 The Associate Director for Patient Care Services evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain that nurse-to-nurse communication occurs between sending and receiving facilities.
Closure Date:
8 The System Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures employees complete all required prevention and management of disruptive behavior training based on the risk level assigned to their work area.
Closure Date:
| ||||
14957