September 12, 2024 – U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General: Improved Oversight Is Needed to Correct VISN Identified Deficiencies in Medical Facilities’ Supply Chain Management
The OIG examined whether VA’s regional Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) were effectively overseeing the supply chain management conducted by their medical facilities. Supply chain management is critical to preventing waste and ensuring unexpired medical products and equipment are available in good condition for patient care when and where they are needed. An audit team assessed data from 140 annual quality control reviews conducted in FY 2023 by the VISNs, in which medical facilities are evaluated on over 100 questions related to VHA requirements. The OIG team also reviewed the resulting corrective action reports. Cumulatively, the VISN supply chiefs’ assessments found that VHA facilities did not comply with supply chain management policy in about 18.5 percent of required areas. The OIG team conducted site visits to six medical facilities from different VISNs to delve further into their quality control reviews. Three of the facilities did not correct 127 of the 130 outstanding deficiencies for all six visited facilities, and the team discovered over 150 expired items that included catheters, syringes, blood collection tubes, and dental implants. The OIG team also learned of instances of delayed or canceled surgeries because supplies were unavailable. Challenges to medical facilities’ complying with supply management requirements included reports of staffing vacancies, leadership turnover, insufficient VISN support, and inadequate storage space. VISN supply chiefs also did not report all noncompliant practices, and Procurement and Logistics Office monitoring was inadequate to identify unimplemented corrective actions or inaccurate assessments. VA concurred with the OIG’s six recommendations to strengthen VISN oversight of facility supply chain management.
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