To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a plan to avoid clinical mistakes by employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs that result in adverse events that require certain disclosures.

SA 2924. Mr. BOOZMAN (for himself, Mr. Blunt, Mrs. McCaskill, Mr.
Cotton, Mr. Inhofe, and Mr. Lankford) submitted an amendment intended
to be proposed to amendment SA 2910 proposed by Mr. Shelby to the bill
H.R. 5895, making appropriations for energy and water development and
related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of title II of division C, add the following:

SEC. 2__. PLAN TO AVOID CLINICAL MISTAKES BY EMPLOYEES OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS THAT RESULT IN
ADVERSE EVENTS THAT REQUIRE CERTAIN
DISCLOSURES.

(a) Plan Required.--Not later than 90 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs shall submit to the appropriate committees of
Congress a plan to reduce the chances that clinical mistakes
by employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs will
result in adverse events that require institutional or
clinical disclosures and to prevent any unnecessary hardship
for patients and families impacted by such adverse events.
(b) Elements.--The plan required by subsection (a) shall
include the following:
(1) A description of a process for the timely
identification of individuals impacted by disclosures
described in subsection (a) and the process for contacting
those individuals or their next of kin.
(2) A description of procedures for expediting any remedial
or follow-up care required for those individuals.
(3) A detailed outline of proposed changes to the process
of the Department for clinical quality checks and oversight.
(4) A communication plan to ensure all facilities of the
Department are made aware of any requirements updated
pursuant to the plan.
(5) A timeline detailing the implementation of the plan.
(6) An identification of the senior executive of the
Department responsible for ensuring compliance with the plan.
(7) An identification of potential impacts of the plan on
timely diagnoses for patients.
(8) An identification of the processes and procedures for
employees of the Department to make leadership at the
facility and the Department aware of adverse events that are
concerning and that result in disclosures and to ensure that
the medical impact on veterans of such disclosures is
minimized.
(c) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this
section, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress''
means--
(1) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Subcommittee
on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related
Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
and
(2) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Subcommittee
on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related
Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
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