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38 U.S.C. § 1703C

Section 1703C · Standards for quality

Current version, with additions and removals from the September 29, 2018 version.

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Current — January 2, 2025
As of September 29, 2018

(a) In General.—(1) The Secretary shall establish standards for quality regarding hospital care, medical services, and extended care services furnished by the Department pursuant to this title, including through non-Department health care providers pursuant to section 1703 of this title.

(a) In General.—(1) The Secretary shall establish standards for quality regarding hospital care, medical services, and extended care services furnished by the Department pursuant to this title, including through non-Department health care providers pursuant to section 1703 of this title.

(2) In establishing standards for quality under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider existing health quality measures that are applied to public and privately sponsored health care systems with the purpose of providing covered veterans relevant comparative information to make informed decisions regarding their health care.
(2)(A) In establishing standards for quality under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider existing health quality measures that are applied to public and privately sponsored health care systems with the purpose of providing covered veterans relevant comparative information to make informed decisions regarding their health care.

(B) The Secretary shall ensure that the standards for quality established under paragraph (1) are comparable to industry standards to ensure there is adequate data transference between care furnished by the Department and care furnished by a non-Department provider.

(3) The Secretary shall collect and consider data for purposes of establishing the standards under paragraph (1). Such data collection shall include—

(3) The Secretary shall collect and consider data for purposes of establishing the standards under paragraph (1). Such data collection shall include—

(A) after consultation with veterans service organizations and other key stakeholders on survey development or modification of an existing survey, a survey of veterans who have used hospital care, medical services, or extended care services furnished by the Veterans Health Administration during the most recent 2-year period to assess the satisfaction of the veterans with service and quality of care; and

(A) after consultation with veterans service organizations and other key stakeholders on survey development or modification of an existing survey, a survey of veterans who have used hospital care, medical services, or extended care services furnished by the Veterans Health Administration during the most recent 2-year period to assess the satisfaction of the veterans with service and quality of care; and

(B) datasets that include, at a minimum, elements relating to the following:

(B) datasets that include, at a minimum, elements relating to the following:

(i) Timely care.

(i) Timely care.

(ii) Effective care.

(ii) Effective care.

(iii) Safety, including, at a minimum, complications, readmissions, and deaths.

(iii) Safety, including, at a minimum, complications, readmissions, and deaths.

(iv) Efficiency.

(iv) Efficiency.

(v) Outcomes relating to patient quality of life.

(4) The Secretary shall consult with all pertinent Federal entities (including the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services), entities in the private sector, and other nongovernmental entities in establishing standards for quality.
(4) The Secretary shall consult with all pertinent Federal entities (including the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the Indian Health Service), entities in the private sector, and other non-governmental entities including Third Party Administrators in establishing standards for quality.

(5)(A) Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of the Caring for Our Veterans Act of 2018, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report detailing the standards for quality.

(5) When collecting, considering, and applying data related to patient care for purposes of establishing standards for quality under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure no metric is being over or under analyzed.

(6) In establishing standards for quality under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—

(A) utilize the most up-to-date practices for extracting and analyzing relevant data;

(B) utilize all relevant data available to the Secretary;

(C) ensure the most efficient use of time and resources related to the use of data scientists employed by the Department; and

(D) collaborate, as appropriate, with entities specified in paragraph (4).

(7)(A) Not less frequently than once every five years, the Secretary shall update the standards for quality established under paragraph (1) pursuant to the requirements for the establishment of such standards under this subsection.

(B)(i) Before submitting the report required under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall provide periodic updates to the appropriate committees of Congress to confirm the Department's progress towards developing the standards for quality required by this section.
(B) Not later than 30 days after any date on which the Secretary updates, pursuant to subparagraph (A), the standards for quality under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on such updated standards for quality.

(ii) The first update under clause (i) shall occur no later than 120 days from the date of the enactment of the Caring for Our Veterans Act of 2018.

(b) Publication and Consideration of Public Comments.—(1) Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Secretary establishes standards for quality under subsection (a), the Secretary shall publish the quality rating of medical facilities of the Department in the publicly available Hospital Compare website through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for the purpose of providing veterans with information that allows them to compare performance measure information among Department and non-Department health care providers.
(b) Publication and Consideration of Public Comments.—(1) Not less frequently than once every three years, the Secretary shall publish the quality rating of medical facilities of the Department pursuant to standards for quality under subsection (a) in the publicly available Hospital Compare website through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for the purpose of providing veterans with information that allows them to compare performance measure information among Department and non-Department health care providers.
(2) Not later than 2 years after the date on which the Secretary establishes standards for quality under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consider and solicit public comment on potential changes to the measures used in such standards to ensure that they include the most up-to-date and applicable industry measures for veterans.
(2) Not later than 2 years after the date on which the Secretary establishes or updates standards for quality under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consider and solicit public comment on potential changes to the measures used in such standards to ensure that they include the most up-to-date and applicable industry measures for veterans.

(c) Definitions.— In this section:

(c) Definitions.— In this section:

(1) The term "appropriate committees of Congress" means—

(1) The term "appropriate committees of Congress" means—

(A) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and

(A) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and

(B) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.

(B) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.

(2) The term "covered veterans" means veterans described in section 1703(b) 1 of this title.
(2) The term "covered veterans" means veterans described in section 1703(b) of this title.
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