The Government Accountability Office (GAO) continues to push for changes to the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) at the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) in GAO’s latest annual priority open recommendations report.
The report suggests that the VA needs to implement 22 open recommendations – of which 20 had already been recommended since May 2021, leaving only two of them as new recommendations.
One of the underlining areas that need changes in the VA Health Care System is the need for clarification on roles and responsibilities.
“The Under Secretary for Health should establish a comprehensive policy that clearly defines Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) roles and responsibilities for managing and overseeing medical centers,” stated the report.
Other issues that need to be addressed look at how the VISNs must work closely with medical centers to improve efficiency.
“VHA needs to demonstrate it has taken these actions to adjust the level of services or taken other actions to revise its existing guidance to require VISNs—in conjunction with medical centers—to develop and submit approaches to improve efficiency and help lower costs at medical centers with declining workloads that received adjusted funding levels,” said the report.
