ENHANCEMENT OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT.

SEC. 505. ENHANCEMENT OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT.(a) Enhancement of Quality Management Through Quality Management Officers.—(1) In general.—Subchapter II of chapter 73 is amended by inserting after section 7311 the following new section:“§ 7311A. Quality management officers“(a) National Quality Management Officer.—(1) The Under Secretary for Health shall designate an official of the Veterans Health Administration to act as the principal quality management officer for the quality-assurance program required by section 7311 of this title. The official so designated may be known as the ‘National Quality Management Officer of the Veterans Health Administration’ (in this section referred to as the ‘National Quality Management Officer’).“(2) The National Quality Management Officer shall report directly to the Under Secretary for Health in the discharge of responsibilities and duties of the Officer under this section.“(3) The National Quality Management Officer shall be the official within the Veterans Health Administration who is principally responsible for the quality-assurance program referred to in paragraph (1). In carrying out that responsibility, the Officer shall be responsible for the following:“(A) Establishing and enforcing the requirements of the program referred to in paragraph (1).“(B) Developing an aggregate quality metric from existing data sources, such as the Inpatient Evaluation Center of the Department, the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, and the External Peer Review Program of the Veterans Health Administration, that could be used to assess reliably the quality of care provided at individual Department medical centers and associated community based outpatient clinics.“(C) Ensuring that existing measures of quality, including measures from the Inpatient Evaluation Center, the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, System-Wide Ongoing Assessment and Review reports of the Department, and Combined Assessment Program reviews of the Office of Inspector General of the Department, are monitored routinely and analyzed in a manner that ensures the timely detection of quality of care issues.“(D) Encouraging research and development in the area of quality metrics for the purposes of improving how the Department measures quality in individual facilities.“(E) Carrying out such other responsibilities and duties relating to quality management in the Veterans Health Administration as the Under Secretary for Health shall specify.“(4) The requirements under paragraph (3) shall include requirements regarding the following:“(A) A confidential system for the submittal of reports by Veterans Health Administration personnel regarding quality management at Department facilities.124 STAT. 1159“(B) Mechanisms for the peer review of the actions of individuals appointed in the Veterans Health Administration in the position of physician.“(b) Quality Management Officers for VISNs.—(1) The Regional Director of each Veterans Integrated Services Network shall appoint an official of the Network to act as the quality management officer of the Network.“(2) The quality management officer for a Veterans Integrated Services Network shall report to the Regional Director of the Veterans Integrated Services Network, and to the National Quality Management Officer, regarding the discharge of the responsibilities and duties of the officer under this section.“(3) The quality management officer for a Veterans Integrated Services Network shall—“(A) direct the quality management office in the Network; and“(B) coordinate, monitor, and oversee the quality management programs and activities of the Administration medical facilities in the Network in order to ensure the thorough and uniform discharge of quality management requirements under such programs and activities throughout such facilities.“(c) Quality Management Officers for Medical Facilities.—(1) The director of each Veterans Health Administration medical facility shall appoint a quality management officer for that facility.“(2) The quality management officer for a facility shall report directly to the director of the facility, and to the quality management officer of the Veterans Integrated Services Network in which the facility is located, regarding the discharge of the responsibilities and duties of the quality management officer under this section.“(3) The quality management officer for a facility shall be responsible for designing, disseminating, and implementing quality management programs and activities for the facility that meet the requirements established by the National Quality Management Officer under subsection (a).“(d) Authorization of Appropriations.—(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.“(2) There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out the provisions of subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D) of subsection (a)(3), $25,000,000 for the two-year period of fiscal years beginning after the date of the enactment of this section.” .(2) Clerical amendment.—The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 73 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 7311 the following new item: “7311A. Quality management officers.”. (b) Reports on Quality Concerns Under Quality-assurance Program.—Section 7311(b) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:“(4) As part of the quality-assurance program, the Under Secretary for Health shall establish mechanisms through which employees of Veterans Health Administration facilities may submit reports, on a confidential basis, on matters relating to quality of care in Veterans Health Administration facilities to the quality management officers of such facilities under section 7311A(c) of 124 STAT. 1160 this title. The mechanisms shall provide for the prompt and thorough review of any reports so submitted by the receiving officials.”.(c) Review of Current Health Care Quality Safeguards.—(1) In general.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a comprehensive review of all current policies and protocols of the Department of Veterans Affairs for maintaining health care quality and patient safety at Department medical facilities. The review shall include a review and assessment of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, including an assessment of—(A) the efficacy of the quality indicators under the program;(B) the efficacy of the data collection methods under the program;(C) the efficacy of the frequency with which regular data analyses are performed under the program; and(D) the extent to which the resources allocated to the program are adequate to fulfill the stated function of the program.(2) Report.—Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the review conducted under paragraph (1), including the findings of the Secretary as a result of the review and such recommendations as the Secretary considers appropriate in light of the review.