HR 9091

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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 30, 2022

Mr. Mann (for himself, Mr. Bost, Mr. Rosendale, and Mr. Bergman) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out an information technology system to manage supply chains for medical facilities of Department of Veterans Affairs.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “VA Supply Chain Management System Authorization Act”.

SEC. 2. MANAGEMENT OF SUPPLY CHAINS FOR MEDICAL FACILITIES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

(a) Authority.—

(1) In general.—Except as provided by paragraph (2), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may only carry out a covered information technology system if—

(A) the system meets the requirements under subsection (b); and

(B) the system does not require the use of a specific contract to procure supplies.

(2) Exception.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to information technology systems used by the Secretary at joint facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense.

(b) Requirements.—The Secretary shall ensure that a covered information technology system meets the following requirements:

(1) The system shall be cloud-based.

(2) With respect to the items covered by the system—

(A) the system shall include—

(i) medical supplies;

(ii) surgical equipment and supplies;

(iii) laboratory equipment and supplies;

(iv) supplies and capital equipment pertaining to facilities or real property;

(v) biomedical equipment;

(vi) textiles and apparel;

(vii) dental equipment and supplies; and

(viii) equipment and supplies relating to the treatment of sleep apnea;

(B) the system may include (but, if not so included in the system itself, the system shall include through an interface with an external information technology system)—

(i) prosthetic appliances requiring extensive customization or fitting;

(ii) prosthetic appliances not requiring extensive customization or fitting;

(iii) pharmaceuticals;

(iv) reusable medical equipment; and

(v) eyeglasses; and

(C) the system may not include—

(i) high-tech medical equipment;

(ii) surgical implants;

(iii) information technology;

(iv) equipment and supplies of the National Cemetery Administration that are not used by the Veterans Health Administration; and

(v) equipment and supplies of the Veterans Benefits Administration that are not used by the Veterans Health Administration.

(3) The system shall include functions relating to—

(A) inventory management of both expendable and nonexpendable items covered by the system, with respect to both—

(i) physical inventory; and

(ii) perpetual inventory;

(B) management of the receipt of such items, with respect to—

(i) intake;

(ii) returns; and

(iii) the identification of such items that are recalled;

(C) management of the storage of such items, with respect to—

(i) local storage; and

(ii) centralized storage at a medical facility or warehousing at a different location for one or more medical facilities;

(D) management of the distribution such items;

(E) the generation and scanning of barcodes or the use of radio frequency identification technology or other similar inventory tracking technology; and

(F) reporting, consisting of—

(i) standard or preexisting reports; and

(ii) customizable or custom-generated reports.

(4) The system shall include (either in the system itself or through an interface with an external information technology system) functions relating to—

(A) capital asset management;

(B) ordering of items covered by the system;

(C) maintenance of a catalog of available supplies; and

(D) lifecycle tracking from acquisition of such items through the disposal of such items.

(5) The system shall have existing interfaces with or the capability to interface with—

(A) the Integrated Financial and Acquisition Management System of the Department of Veterans Affairs; and

(B) the electronic health record systems of the Department, including—

(i) the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture and Computerized Patient Record System; and

(ii) the electronic health record system established under the Electronic Health Record Modernization Program (as defined in section 503 of Veterans Benefits and Transition Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-407; 38 U.S.C. 5701 note prec.)).

(6) The system shall have the capacity to accommodate not fewer than 50,000 users.

(7) The system shall include any other functions, capabilities, or components as determined by the Secretary.

(c) Completion of Implementation.—The Secretary shall complete the implementation of a covered information technology system by not later than three years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(d) Covered Information Technology System Defined.—In this section, the term “covered information technology system” means an information technology system, or a system of systems, for the management of supply chains, including with respect to inventory and other functions. <all>