Reports

Throughout the pandemic, the use of telehealth has been critically important to ensure continued and expanded access to care while reducing the risks of exposure and spread of COVID-19.  As the effects of the pandemic are still being felt throughout the Nation, there are questions about how telehealth can best be used to meet the needs of beneficiaries in the future. The PRAC will conduct and coordinate a review of six Federal healthcare programs to identify the nature of telehealth across these programs and to identify any potential integrity risks associated with telehealth programs and the facilitation of telehealth care.

This report will provide (1) a descriptive evaluation of Veterans Integrated Service Network facilities’ pandemic readiness and response as determined by recent Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program inspections.

Management advisory memorandum detailing the growth of community telehealth claims and the associated risks.

Federal agencies were allocated more than $5 trillion in pandemic response funding to be disbursed to the public and to state and local governments, where a state or local government could have received pandemic response funds from multiple federal programs to improve the overall pandemic response in their communities. Access to information about the total amount of funds received, the purpose of those funds, and the progress made toward achieving the program goals and objectives is not always centralized and can be difficult for the public to track down or may not even be available to the public. The PRAC will conduct impact case studies at 6 different locations and seek to identify the federal pandemic response funds provided to the 6 locations and the purpose of those funds, and to determine if the federal program spending aligned with the intended goals and objectives.

The CARES Act requires that the PRAC conduct and coordinate oversight of covered funds and the Coronavirus response and support Inspectors General in the oversight of covered funds and the Coronavirus response. The purpose of this review is to assess the resources (staffing, training, IT, oversight, and resources overall) available to the acquisition and grants workforce in their implementation of contracts and grants funded with COVID-19 response funds. The resulting report will meet the requirements outlined in the CARES Act and present an assessment of information obtained during the data call, including any trends, best practices, or challenges.

This report will provide (1) a descriptive evaluation of Veterans Integrated Service Network facilities’ pandemic readiness and response as determined by recent Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program inspections.
 

To determine whether the purchase of iPad and iPhone devices by VHA's Office of Connected Care was adequately planned and managed and to ensure adequate management controls are in place to reduce the risk of loss and misuse of the devices.

The PRAC and pandemic OIGs identified the possibility of recipients receiving funding from multiple federal programs for the same purpose ( multi-dipping When a recipient receives money from multiple federal sources and uses it for the same purpose, this could be an indication of multi-dipping. ) as a high risk area. This project will focus on funds received by tribal governments, and result in an information brief that identifies programs where multi-dipping When a recipient receives money from multiple federal sources and uses it for the same purpose, this could be an indication of multi-dipping. has occurred in CARES Act programs allowing us to identify and scope the magnitude of the risk. 

This review will assess VHA’s response, readiness, implementation, and outcomes with the administration of the COVID-19 vaccines to employees and veterans. 
 

The VA OIG is conducting this audit to determine the extent VHA billed veterans’ private health insurance for care provided through the community for conditions not related to military service. Revenue recovery from veterans’ private health insurance has been an ongoing concern. Three previous OIG reports highlighted internal control weaknesses leading to missed opportunities to bill and recover funds.