Recommendations
2128
| ID | Report Number | Report Title | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21-00519-192 | Review of VA’s Compliance with the Payment Integrity Information Act for Fiscal Year 2020 | Review | ||
1 The OIG recommended the under secretary for benefits ensure the Pension Program meets its reduction target.
Closure Date:
2 The OIG recommended the under secretary for health ensure the Purchased Long-Term Services and Supports Program meets its reduction target.
Closure Date:
3 The OIG recommended the under secretary for health reduce improper payments to below 10 percent for Beneficiary Travel; Communications, Utilities, and Other Rent; Medical Care Contracts and Agreements; Purchased Long Term Services and Supports; and VA Community Care Programs and activities.
Closure Date:
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| 21-00657-197 | Failures in Care Coordination and Reviewing a Patient’s Death at the VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System in Utah | Hotline Healthcare Inspection | ||
1 The VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System Director conducts a clinical review of the care provided to the patient on Monday (day 7), by Idaho Falls Community-Based Outpatient Clinic staff, and takes action as warranted.
Closure Date:
2 The VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System Director reviews the processes involved in conducting root cause analyses to ensure that final reports contain complete and accurate information.
Closure Date:
3 The VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System Director determines if an institutional disclosure is warranted following the completion of the clinical review of this patient’s care and takes action as necessary.
Closure Date:
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| 20-01261-194 | Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle, Washington | Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program | ||
1 The System Director evaluates and determines the reasons for noncompliance and ensures that improvement actions recommended by the Executive Leadership Council are fully implemented and monitored.
Closure Date:
2 The System Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain that final peer reviews are completed within 120 calendar days or have a written extension request approved by the Director.
Closure Date:
3 The System Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures that the Patient Safety Manager or designee completes at least eight patient safety analysis processes each fiscal year.
Closure Date:
4 The System Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures that the Patient Safety Manager or designee includes an analysis of underlying systems in all root cause analyses.
Closure Date:
5 The System Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures that improvement actions identified from root cause analyses are implemented.
Closure Date:
6 The System Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain that the Patient Safety Manager or designee submits each root cause analysis to the National Center for Patient Safety within the required time frame.
Closure Date:
7 The System Director evaluates and determines reasons for noncompliance and ensures the Patient Safety Manager or designee provides an annual patient safety report to healthcare system leaders.
Closure Date:
8 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures service chiefs define in advance, communicate, and document focused professional practice evaluation criteria in practitioner profiles.
Closure Date:
9 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures that licensed independent practitioners’ professional practice evaluations are completed by providers with similar training and privileges.
Closure Date:
10 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain that service chiefs’ reprivileging decisions are based on ongoing professional practice evaluation data.
Closure Date:
11 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain the Credentialing and Privileging Committee meeting minutes consistently reflect the review of professional practice evaluation results and the rationale for privileging recommendations.
Closure Date:
12 The System Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain that provider exit review forms are completed within seven business days of licensed healthcare professionals’ departure from the healthcare system.
Closure Date:
13 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines the reasons for noncompliance and ensures that providers complete an aberrant behavior risk assessment that includes a history of substance abuse and aberrant drug-related behaviors for all patients prior to initiating long-term opioid therapy.
Closure Date:
14 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain that providers conduct urine drug testing for patients prior to initiating long-term opioid therapy.
Closure Date:
15 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain that providers obtain and document informed consent for patients prior to initiating long-term opioid therapy.
Closure Date:
16 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures providers’ follow-up evaluations of patients receiving long-term opioid therapy include an assessment of adherence to the pain management plan of care and effectiveness of the interventions.
Closure Date:
17 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures that providers complete goals of care conversations and life-sustaining treatment decisions progress notes.
Closure Date:
18 The Deputy Director of Patient Care Services evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures that Sterile Processing Services maintains the required climate control parameters for areas where reusable medical equipment is reprocessed and stored.
Closure Date:
19 The Deputy Director of Patient Care Services evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain that all new Sterile Processing Services employees complete Level 1 training within 90 days of hire.
Closure Date:
20 The Deputy Director of Patient Care Services evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures that Sterile Processing Services employees complete competency assessments.
Closure Date:
21 The Deputy Director of Patient Care Services evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain that Sterile Processing Services employees receive monthly continuing education.
Closure Date:
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| 19-08267-147 | Contracted Residence Programs Need Stronger Monitoring to Ensure Veterans Experiencing Homelessness Receive Services | Audit | ||
1 Establish control mechanisms at the Veterans Integrated Service Network and Contracted Residential Services program levels to ensure Contracted Residential Services staff at medical facilities comply with Veterans Health Administration Handbook 1162.09 requirements for monitoring and documentation.
Closure Date:
2 Direct Network Contracting Offices to establish controls to verify contracting officers meet with contracting officer’s representatives on at least a quarterly basis to evaluate contractor performance and document the meetings.
Closure Date:
3 Direct Network Contracting Offices for all Contracted Residential Services contracts to ensure contracting officers include quality assurance surveillance plans and promptly issue letters of delegation to staff who have been nominated to be contracting officer’s representatives.
Closure Date:
4 Update Veterans Health Administration Handbook 1162.09 to incorporate unannounced site visits to the extent possible during annual inspections and quarterly evaluations.
Closure Date:
5 Update Veterans Health Administration Handbook 1162.09 to include guidance on paying for veteran absences and make certain these requirements are reflected in contracts and surveillance plans.
Closure Date:
Total Monetary Impact of All Recommendations
Open: $0
Closed: $35,300,000
Total: $35,300,000
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| 20-04341-182 | Audiology Leaders’ Deficiencies Responding to Poor Care and Monitoring Performance at the Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System in Muskogee | Hotline Healthcare Inspection | ||
1 The Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System Director confirms the Chief of Staff, the Service Chief, and the Supervisory Audiologist have processes in place to ensure patients affected by the audiologist’s poor care are identified and receive clinically-indicated follow-up.
Closure Date:
2 The Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System Director evaluates processes, including annual competencies, used to ensure audiology leaders’ compliance with the Veterans Health Administration’s adverse event disclosure requirements, and takes action as indicated.
Closure Date:
3 The Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System Director requires the Chief of Staff, the Service Chief, and the Supervisory Audiologist to complete clinical disclosures, as appropriate, for patients identified as being affected by the audiologist’s poor care.
Closure Date:
4 The Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System Director initiates the process to determine whether a large scale disclosure is required, in accordance with the Veterans Health Administration policy.
Closure Date:
5 The Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System Director evaluates processes, including annual competencies, used to ensure audiology leaders’ compliance with the Veterans Health Administration’s patient safety reporting requirements, and takes action as indicated.
Closure Date:
6 The Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System Director directs the Chief of Staff, the Service Chief, and the Supervisory Audiologist to notify the Patient Safety Manager of adverse events identified through the review of patients impacted by the audiologist’s poor care.
Closure Date:
7 The Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System Director ensures the Supervisory Audiologist verifies and documents annual competency assessments for audiologists in compliance with facility policy.
Closure Date:
8 The Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System Director ensures that the Supervisory Audiologist conducts performance appraisals of audiologists in compliance with the Veterans Health Administration policy.
Closure Date:
9 The Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System Director evaluates processes, including annual competencies, used to ensure audiology leaders’ compliance with Veterans Health Administration’s state licensing board reporting policy, and takes action as indicated.
Closure Date:
10 The Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System Director initiates a review of the audiologist’s conduct to determine whether a report to the state licensing board is indicated, in accordance with the Veterans Health Administration policy.
Closure Date:
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| 20-00433-168 | VBA’s Fiduciary Program Needs to Improve the Timeliness of Determinations and Reimbursements of Misused Funds | Review | ||
1 The OIG recommended the under secretary for benefits implement a mechanism for ensuring negligence determinations subsequent to December 31, 2017, are completed promptly and monitor compliance.
Closure Date:
2 The OIG recommended the under secretary for benefits implement a mechanism for ensuring reimbursements subsequent to December 31, 2017, are completed promptly and monitor compliance.
Closure Date:
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| 20-02993-181 | Deficiencies in the Mental Health Care of a Patient who Died by Suicide and Failure to Complete an Institutional Disclosure, VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System in Las Vegas | Hotline Healthcare Inspection | ||
1 The VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System Director ensures completion of suicide risk screening and evaluation in accordance with Veterans Health Administration requirements.
Closure Date:
2 The VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System Director makes certain that Inpatient Mental Health Unit staff collaboratively develop and update safety plans with patients to reflect the patient’s current risk and protective factors.
Closure Date:
3 The VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System Director ensures adherence to Veterans Health Administration requirements and VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System Standard Operating Procedure 116-14, Suicide Prevention Daily Operations, October 2019, in the consideration of high risk for suicide patient record flags.
Closure Date:
4 The VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System Director evaluates substance use disorder diagnostic and treatment referral processes for patients on the Inpatient Mental Health Unit and takes action as warranted.
Closure Date:
5 The VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System Director reviews current practices to ensure Inpatient Mental Health Unit staff reconcile and incorporate critical clinical information into treatment and discharge planning.
Closure Date:
6 The VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System Director expedites the establishment of mental health treatment coordinator policy in accordance with Veterans Health Administration requirements.
Closure Date:
7 The VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System Director makes certain that Inpatient Mental Health Unit staff coordinate discharge plans with outpatient treatment providers, in accordance with Veterans Health Administration requirements.
Closure Date:
8 The VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System Director ensures patient complaints and requests are addressed in accordance with Veterans Health Administration requirements.
Closure Date:
9 The VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System Director promotes leaders’ accurate identification of sentinel events consistent with The Joint Commission definition and Veterans Health Administration requirements.
Closure Date:
10 The VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System Director conducts a full review of the patient’s
care, determines whether an institutional disclosure is warranted, and takes action as indicated.
Closure Date:
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| 20-01807-173 | Adaptive Sports Grants Management Needs Improvement | Review | ||
1 The OIG recommended the under secretary for health ensure the Office of National Veterans Sports Programs and Special Events director develop standard operating procedures for all processes related to managing the adaptive sports grants program.
Closure Date:
2 The OIG recommended the under secretary for health ensure the Office of National Veterans Sports Programs and Special Events director develop and train current staff and identify and hire staff specialized in grants management.
Closure Date:
3 The OIG recommended the under secretary for health ensure the Office of National Veterans Sports Programs and Special Events director establish and execute a plan to evaluate risks posed by grant applicants before awarding grants, in accordance with VA financial policy.
Closure Date:
4 The OIG recommended the under secretary for health ensure the Office of National Veterans Sports Programs and Special Events director establish procedures to ensure the timely reimbursement of grant recipient expenses.
Closure Date:
5 The OIG recommended the under secretary for health ensure the Office of National Veterans Sports Programs and Special Events director establish grant closeout procedures that include communicating timelines with the grant recipients, documentation requirements for proper grant closeout, availability of grant funds, and a process to approve modification and extension requests.
Closure Date:
6 The OIG recommended the under secretary for health ensure the Office of National Veterans Sports Programs and Special Events director act to ensure all adaptive sports grants are closed out on time.
Closure Date:
7 The OIG recommended the under secretary for health ensure the Office of National Veterans Sports Programs and Special Events director determine, in coordination with VA’s Office of Finance and Office of General Counsel, whether a Purpose Statute violation occurred, whether account adjustments need to be made, whether Antideficiency Act violations occurred, and report any Purpose Statute and Antideficiency Act violations.
Closure Date:
Total Monetary Impact of All Recommendations
Open: $0
Closed: $247,000
Total: $247,000
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| 20-01257-180 | Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection of the VA Portland Health Care System in Oregon | Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program | ||
1 The System Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures the Quality, Safety and Value Council’s recommended improvement actions are fully implemented and monitored.
Closure Date:
2 The System Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures the Utilization Management Committee’s recommended improvement actions are fully implemented.
Closure Date:
3 The System Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain that root cause analyses include all required review elements.
Closure Date:
4 The System Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures all root cause analysis actions are fully implemented.
Closure Date:
5 The System Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain that provider exit review forms are completed within seven business days of licensed healthcare professionals’ departure from the healthcare system.
Closure Date:
6 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures that providers complete an aberrant behavior risk assessment that includes a history of aberrant drug-related behaviors prior to initiating long-term opioid therapy.
Closure Date:
7 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain that providers conduct urine drug testing as recommended for patients on long-term opioid therapy.
Closure Date:
8 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures that providers obtain and document informed consent for patients prior to initiating long-term opioid therapy.
Closure Date:
9 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain that providers conduct follow-up assessments that include adherence to the pain management plan of care and effectiveness of the interventions.
Closure Date:
10 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines the reasons for noncompliance and ensures that providers conduct four follow-up visits, either face-to-face or telephonic with documented consent, within the required time frame.
Closure Date:
11 The System Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain that employees complete annual suicide prevention refresher training.
Closure Date:
12 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures providers complete life-sustaining treatment decisions progress notes prior to hospice referrals.
Closure Date:
13 The System Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain that required members attend Women Veterans Health Committee meetings.
Closure Date:
14 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain that the Women Veterans Health Committee reports to executive leaders.
Closure Date:
15 The Deputy Director for Patient Care Services evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures standard operating procedures are kept up-to-date and reviewed at least every three years.
Closure Date:
16 The System Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain that the Endoscopy Clinic clean storage room maintains the required relative humidity range.
Closure Date:
17 The Deputy Director for Patient Care Services determines the reasons for noncompliance and ensures that all new Sterile Processing Services employees complete Level 1 training within 90 days of hire.
Closure Date:
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| 20-01256-179 | Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection of the Boise VA Medical Center in Idaho | Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program | ||
1 The Medical Center Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain a licensed healthcare professional’s first- or second-line supervisor completes provider exit review forms within seven business days of professionals’ departure from the medical center.
Closure Date:
2 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain that the Pain Management Committee monitors the quality of pain assessment and effectiveness of pain management interventions.
Closure Date:
3 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain that the Suicide Prevention Coordinator conducts at least five suicide prevention outreach activities per month.
Closure Date:
4 The Medical Center Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain that all staff complete annual suicide prevention refresher training.
Closure Date:
5 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures practitioners complete life-sustaining treatment decision progress notes.
Closure Date:
6 The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures that processes and procedures are in place for 24 hours a day, 7 days per week Emergency Department and medical center call coverage for gynecologic care.
Closure Date:
7 The Medical Center Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures that each community-based outpatient clinic has at least two designated women’s health primary care providers or arrangements for leave coverage when there is only one designated provider.
Closure Date:
8 The Medical Center Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and makes certain that required members consistently attend Women Veterans Health Committee meetings.
Closure Date:
9 The Medical Center Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures the Women Veterans Program Manager is full-time and free of collateral duties.
Closure Date:
10 The Nurse Executive evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures that Sterile Processing Services staff complete competency assessments that align with medical center standard operating procedures prior to reprocessing reusable medical equipment.
Closure Date:
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15333