[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1319 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1319

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a continuing 
   medical education program for non-Department of Veterans Affairs 
  medical professionals who treat veterans to increase knowledge and 
  recognition of medical conditions common to veterans, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 8, 2017

   Mr. Brown introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a continuing 
   medical education program for non-Department of Veterans Affairs 
  medical professionals who treat veterans to increase knowledge and 
  recognition of medical conditions common to veterans, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Community Care Core Competency Act 
of 2017''.

SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR 
              CERTAIN NON-DEPARTMENT MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS.

    (a) Establishment of Program.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
        establish a program to provide continuing medical education 
        material to non-Department medical professionals with the goal 
        of--
                    (A) increasing knowledge and recognition of medical 
                conditions common to veterans; and
                    (B) improving outreach to veterans and family 
                members of veterans.
            (2) Education provided.--The program shall include 
        education on the following:
                    (A) Dealing with patients who are veterans or 
                family members of veterans.
                    (B) Identifying and treating common mental and 
                physical conditions of veterans and family members of 
                veterans.
                    (C) The health care system of the Department of 
                Veterans Affairs.
                    (D) Such other matters as the Secretary considers 
                appropriate.
    (b) Duration of Program.--The program shall be carried out during 
the five-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
Act.
    (c) Material Provided.--The continuing medical education material 
provided to non-Department medical professionals under the program 
shall be the same material provided to medical professionals of the 
Department to ensure that all medical professionals treating veterans 
have access to the same materials, which supports core competencies 
throughout the community.
    (d) Administration of Program.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall administer the program 
        to participating non-Department medical professionals through 
        an Internet website of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
            (2) Curriculum and credit provided.--The Secretary shall 
        determine the curriculum of the program and the number of hours 
        of credit to provide to participating non-Department medical 
        professionals for continuing medical education.
            (3) Accreditation.--The Secretary shall ensure that the 
        program is accredited in as many States as practicable.
            (4) Consistency with existing rules.--The Secretary shall 
        ensure that the program is consistent with the rules and 
        regulations of the following:
                    (A) The medical licensing agency of each State in 
                which the program is accredited.
                    (B) Such medical credentialing organizations as the 
                Secretary considers appropriate.
            (5) User cost.--The Secretary shall carry out the program 
        at no cost to participating non-Department medical 
        professionals.
    (e) Non-Department Medical Professional Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``non-Department medical professional'' means any individual 
who is licensed by an appropriate medical authority in the United 
States and in good standing, is not an employee of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs, and provides care to veterans or family members of 
veterans under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs.
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