[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 101 (Wednesday, July 8, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S7255]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HOSPITAL QUALITY REPORT CARD ACT

  Mr. JOHANNS. Mr. President, I wish to speak to the Department of 
Veterans Affairs Hospital Quality Report Card Act of 2009.
  One of my proudest jobs in the Senate is serving on the Senate 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Among its other roles, this committee 
provides oversight of VA health facilities, working with information 
from the VA, its Inspector General, Veterans Service Organizations, and 
the general public. We work with a lot of information--it is, after 
all, our committee's job. But sifting through a pile of reports to find 
the best hospitals should not be a full time job for those who need 
health care. This bill will help ensure that it is not.
  Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this bill, 
the VA would be mandated to establish a Hospital Quality Report Card 
Initiative. Under the Initiative, the Secretary would be required to 
publish reports on the VA's hospitals which assess health care 
effectiveness, safety, timeliness, efficiency, patient-centeredness, 
satisfaction of patients and health professionals, and care equity. 
These factors would be assessed as letter grades, to ensure that the 
results of these reports are not swabbed over with bureaucratic jargon.
  In collecting and reporting this data, the Secretary would have to 
include extensive and detailed patient-centered information such as 
staffing levels of nurses, rates of infections contracted at VA 
hospitals, volume of various procedures performed, hospital sanctions 
and other violations, the availability of emergency rooms, the quality 
of care in various hospital settings, and additional measures 
determined appropriate by the VA Secretary. Each report submitted under 
the Initiative would have to be available in electronic and hard copy 
formats, in an understandable manner, and allow for a comparison of the 
individual VA hospital quality with local or regional hospitals.
  The bill would further mandate that the Secretary institute quality 
control measures to identify potential data irregularities that would 
lead to artificial improvements in the hospital's quality measurements. 
In addition, the Secretary would need to evaluate and periodically 
report to Congress--and the public--on the effectiveness of this 
Initiative.
  I believe that our veterans should easily be able to identify the 
best hospitals around them. It is unconscionable to make often elderly 
and disabled veterans wade through pages of statistical data in order 
to assure themselves that their local VA health facility is providing 
the best care possible. Often, the factors veterans care about such as 
the wait times for appointments and medical attention--are not measured 
reliably or presented to veterans in an accessible or usable fashion. I 
want to change that. Information on health facilities should not be a 
privilege; it should be an obligation for the Department of Veterans 
Affairs. This legislation is a positive step in the right direction.
  I encourage my colleagues to cosponsor this commonsense legislation.

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