[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4591 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.4591
One Hundred Seventeenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-two
An Act
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress
periodic reports on the costs, performance metrics, and outcomes of the
Department of Veterans Affairs Electronic Health Record Modernization
program.
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 ``VA Electronic Health Record
Transparency Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. REPORTS ON COSTS, PERFORMANCE METRICS, AND OUTCOMES OF
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD MODERNIZATION
PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Section 503 of the Veterans Benefits and
Transition Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-407; 38 U.S.C. 5701 note prec.)
is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f);
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following new
subsection (e):
``(e) Quarterly Reports.--
``(1) Reports on costs of ehrm program.--Not later than 90 days
after the date of the enactment of the VA Electronic Health Record
Transparency Act of 2021, and every 30 days after the last day of
each fiscal quarter thereafter until the termination date specified
in paragraph (3), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to
the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of
Representatives a report on the costs of the Electronic Health
Record Modernization program of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Each such report shall include, for the period covered by the
report and for the total period beginning on the date of the
enactment of the VA Electronic Health Record Transparency Act of
2021 and ending on the date of the submittal of the report, a
description of all actual expenses of, and driven by, such program,
including any such expenses paid using--
``(A) any funds appropriated for the Department of Veterans
Affairs, for any source or account, expended by any
organizational element of the Department or by the Federal
Electronic Health Record Modernization Office for the
Electronic Health Record Modernization Program;
``(B) any funds, from any source or account, expended by
any organizational element of the Department for physical or
technology infrastructure modifications, enhancements,
improvements, or expansions at a facility of the Department
necessitated by, or related or pertaining to, the Electronic
Health Record Modernization Program; and
``(C) any funds, from any source or account, expended by
any organizational element of the Department or by the Federal
Electronic Health Record Modernization Office for consultants,
support contractors, or experts related or pertaining to the
Electronic Health Record Modernization Program.
``(2) Reports on performance metrics and outcomes.--Not later
than 90 days after the date of the enactment of the VA Electronic
Health Record Transparency Act of 2021, and every 30 days after the
last day of each fiscal quarter thereafter until the termination
date specified in paragraph (3), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate
and House of Representatives a report on the performance metrics
and outcomes of the Electronic Health Record Modernization Program.
Each such report shall include, for the period covered by the
report--
``(A) a list of the quality, performance, safety, or value
metrics, key performance indicators, and other diagnostic or
evaluation criteria in use to assess the Electronic Health
Record Modernization Program and the electronic health record
system, in general and at individual facilities, with respect
to veterans, employees of the Department, and Departmental
operations;
``(B) an explanation of any change to any of such metrics,
indicators, and criteria compared to the metrics, indicators,
and criteria included in any previous report submitted under
this paragraph;
``(C) the data supporting or demonstrating each such
metric, indicator, and criteria compared to the data supporting
or demonstrating such metric, indicator, or criteria as
included in the previous report submitted under this paragraph;
and
``(D) a list of patient safety reports, incidents, alerts,
or disclosures at each facility of the Department where the
electronic health record system has been implemented.
``(3) Termination date.--The requirement to submit a report
under paragraph (1) shall terminate on the date that is 90 days
after the date on which the Secretary submits to the Committees on
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives
certification that the Electronic Health Record Modernization
program has been fully implemented.''; and
(3) in subsection (f), as redesignated by paragraph (1), by
adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
``(3) The term `electronic health record system' means the
electronic health record system implemented pursuant to the
Electronic Health Record Modernization Program.
``(4) The term `Federal Electronic Health Record Management
Office' means the office established under section 1635(b) of the
Wounded Warrior Act (title XVI of Public Law 110-181; 10 U.S.C.
1071 note).
``(5) The term `facility of the Department' includes a joint
facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department
of Defense.''.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.