Reports

This Office of Inspector General (OIG) Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program (CHIP) report provides a focused evaluation of Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 10 and 20 facilities’ COVID-19 pandemic readiness and response. This evaluation focused on emergency preparedness; supplies, equipment, and infrastructure; staffing; access to care; community living center patient care and operations; and facility staff feedback. The OIG has aggregated findings on COVID-19 preparedness and responsiveness from routine inspections to ensure prompt dissemination of information given the...

This management advisory memo identifies potential risks associated with the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) efforts to expedite adding new staff to meet increased demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) recognizes the tremendous pressure to quickly hire staff to meet unprecedented needs. To achieve VHA’s goal of bringing all new employees on duty within three days of making a tentative offer, VHA has modified or deferred tasks such as fingerprinting, background investigations, drug testing, credentialing, and preplacement physicals. The...

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a review to assess Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) virtual primary care response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the use of virtual care by primary care providers and their perceptions of VA Video Connect (VVC) between February 7 and June 16, 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic presented significant challenges to health care delivery worldwide. One strategy initiated by VHA, in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation to social distance, included expanding the delivery of primary care via virtual care...

This review is a culmination of the OIG's work on FISMA as well as additional cybersecurity and technology work performed by the OIG throughout the year.  The review this fiscal year includes additional work to address questions raised by members of Congress related to information technology and cybersecurity during the Department of Energy's maximum telework posture.
 

The review will determine: (a) how the Department is administering, recording, and reporting contractor paid leave reimbursements, (b) who is responsible for selecting the labor categories/positions that qualify and under what circumstances, and (c) the amount of contractor paid leave reimbursements under the CARES Act for the period examined.

The spread of COVID-19 drastically increased the demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks, gloves, and gowns, and significantly disrupted the global supply chain. As the nation’s largest integrated healthcare system, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) had to compete for PPE for its personnel and patients. The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) received hotline allegations that VHA medical facilities could not acquire and maintain enough PPE to keep pace with escalating needs. The OIG assessed how VHA reported and monitored PPE supply levels during the pandemic. The...

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an inspection to assess allegations related to delayed medication delivery from the VA Manila Outpatient Clinic (clinic) pharmacy in Pasay City, Philippines, prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The OIG substantiated a patient experienced medication delivery delays and did not timely receive morphine from the clinic pharmacy in October and November 2019. While the patient requested a renewal in a timely manner, pharmacists could not fill the medication because there was no available stock from the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA)...