CHAPTER 57-RECORDS AND INVESTIGATIONS
SUBCHAPTER I-RECORDS
SUBCHAPTER II-INVESTIGATIONS
SUBCHAPTER III-INFORMATION SECURITY
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2015-
2006-
1991-
1980-
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Plan on Adoption of Certain Health Information Standards for Department of Veterans Affairs and Certain Health Care Providers
"(a)
"(1)
"(A) coordination of-
"(i) care; and
"(ii) benefits;
"(B) patient identity matching;
"(C) measurement and reporting of quality;
"(D) population health; and
"(E) public health.
"(2)
"(A) small community care providers; and
"(B) community care providers located in rural areas.
"(b)
"(1)
"(A) the health records of veterans; and
"(B) documents relating to health care of veterans, clinical notes, and any other information the Secretary determines necessary.
"(2)
"(A) provide care under the laws administered by the Secretary to-
"(i) a lower volume of veterans; and
"(ii) veterans who are located in rural areas; and
"(B) are unable or unwilling to exchange the records and documents described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of such paragraph with the Department through standards-based or direct exchange mechanisms in effect as of the date of the enactment of this Act.
"(c)
"(1)
"(A) the plan required by subsection (a); and
"(B) a report that includes-
"(i) an analysis of gaps, if any, between the use, by the Department and other agencies, health information exchanges, and technology companies, of national health information interoperability standards and the potential, or optimal, use of such national health information interoperability standards;
"(ii) an analysis and description of the participation by the Department, community care providers, and other relevant entities in the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement program of the Department of Health and Human Services as of the date of the enactment of this Act;
"(iii) recommendations of the Secretary with respect to development of health information interoperability standards;
"(iv) timelines or schedules to implement the plan required by subsection (a); and
"(v) an identification of any legislative authorities or resources the Secretary requires to implement such plan.
"(2)
"(A)
"(B)
"(i) the plan required by subsection (a) made during the period covered by the report; and
"(ii) the analysis, recommendations, timelines, and legislative authorities reported pursuant to paragraph (1).
"(d)
"(1) The term 'community care provider' means a non-Department health care provider providing care (including dental care)-
"(A) under section 1703 of title 38, United States Code;
"(B) pursuant to a Veterans Care Agreement under section 1703A of such title; or
"(C) under any other law administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
"(2) The term 'Third Party Administrator' means an entity that manages a provider network and performs administrative services related to such network under section 1703 of title 38, United States Code."
Removal of Dependents From Award of Compensation or Pension
"(1) the recipient of an award of compensation or pension may remove any dependent from an award of compensation or pension to the individual using the eBenefits system of the Department of Veterans Affairs, or a successor system; and
"(2) such removal takes effect not later than 60 days after the date on which the recipient elects such removal."
Updating Dependent Information
Oversight of Electronic Health Record Modernization Program
"(a)
"(1) Integrated Master Plan.
"(2) Integrated Master Schedule.
"(3) Program Management Plan.
"(4) Annual and lifecycle cost estimates, including, at a minimum, cost elements relating to-
"(A) Federal Government labor;
"(B) contractor labor;
"(C) hardware;
"(D) software; and
"(E) testing and evaluation.
"(5) Cost baseline.
"(6) Risk Management Plan.
"(7) Health IT Strategic Architecture Plan.
"(8) Transition Plan for implementing updated architecture.
"(9) Data Migration Plan.
"(10) System and Data Security Plan.
"(11) Application Implementation Plan.
"(12) System Design Documents.
"(13) Legacy Veterans Information Systems and Technology Architecture Standardization, Security Enhancement, and Consolidation Project Plan.
"(14) Health Data Interoperability Management Plan.
"(15) Community Care Vision and Implementation Plan, including milestones and a detailed description of how complete interoperability with non-Department health care providers will be achieved.
"(b)
"(1) Integrated Master Schedule.
"(2) Program Management Plan, including any written Program Management Review material developed for the Program Management Plan during the fiscal quarter covered by the submission.
"(3) Each document described in subsection (a)(4).
"(4) Performance Baseline Report for the fiscal quarter covered by the submission or for the fiscal quarter ending the fiscal year prior to the submission.
"(5) Budget Reconciliation Report.
"(6) Risk Management Plan and Risk Register.
"(c)
"(d)
"(1)
"(2)
"(A) The delay of any milestone or deliverable by 30 or more days.
"(B) A request for equitable adjustment, equitable adjustment, [sic] or change order exceeding $1,000,000 (as such terms are defined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation).
"(C) The submission of any protest, claim, or dispute, and the resolution of any protest, claim, or dispute (as such terms are defined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation).
"(D) A loss of clinical or other data.
"(E) A breach of patient privacy, including any-
"(i) disclosure of protected health information that is not permitted under regulations promulgated under section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (
"(ii) breach of sensitive personal information (as defined in section 5727 of title 38, United States Code).
"(e)
"(1)
"(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)
"(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)
"(f)
"(1) The term 'appropriate congressional committees' means-
"(A) the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate; and
"(B) the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
"(2) The term 'Electronic Health Record Modernization Program' means-
"(A) any activities by the Department of Veterans Affairs to procure or implement an electronic health or medical record system to replace any or all of the Veterans Information Systems and Technology Architecture, the Computerized Patient Record System, the Joint Legacy Viewer, or the Enterprise Health Management Platform; and
"(B) any contracts or agreements entered into by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out, support, or analyze the activities under subparagraph (A).
"(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
"(5) The term 'facility of the Department' includes a joint facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense."
Discontinuation of Use of Social Security Numbers To Identify Individuals in Department of Veterans Affairs Information Systems
"(a) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Labor, shall discontinue collecting and using Social Security account numbers to authenticate individuals in all information systems of the Department of Veterans Affairs for all individuals not later than September 30, 2024.
"(b) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may collect and use a Social Security account number to identify an individual, in accordance with section 552a of title 5, United States Code, in an information system of the Department of Veterans Affairs if and only if the use of such number is necessary to:
"(1) obtain or provide information the Secretary requires from an information system that is not under the jurisdiction of the Secretary;
"(2) comply with a law, regulation, or court order;
"(3) perform anti-fraud activities; or
"(4) identify a specific individual where no adequate substitute is available.
"(c) The matter in subsections (a) and (b) shall supersede section 237 of division J of
Similar provisions were contained in the following acts: