Background investigations are required for most VA medical facility staff, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and laboratory technicians, but many of them have been put to work without such a check, an IG report has said.
Based on a sample, it projected that 6,200 employees working at health care facilities did not have a background investigation initiated.
Further, it found that the agency’s records “were not reliable for reporting on the status of suitability adjudications” when investigations were done; that “adjudicators had not been reviewing background investigations timely”; and that higher-level officials “did not monitor or ensure compliance with program requirements.”
“As a result, VA cannot reliably attest to the suitability of its largest workforce, exposing veterans and employees to individuals who have not been properly vetted. Unless internal controls and data are improved, VA and the public lack assurance that VHA has a workforce suitable for serving our nation’s veterans,” it said.
It said the agency concurred with the findings and produced a corrective action plan, which the IG said it would monitor.
