Federal Manager's Daily Report

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The GAO has highlighted recommendations regarding personnel practices among those still pending action by the VA, adding that “over the past two decades, we and others have expressed concern about certain VA human capital practices.”

In one of a series of reports on unresolved high-priority recommendations at various agencies, the GAO pointed to its 2017 report stating that the VA does not have an accurate count of physicians providing care in the VA system, “hindering its ability to ensure that it has the appropriate clinical workforce to meet the current and future needs of veterans,” it said.

“Although VA disagrees with our recommendation to develop a process to accurately count all physicians providing care at each VA medical center, we continue to believe that creating a system-wide process to collect information on all physicians providing care at VA medical centers, including physicians who are not employed by VA, is essential for accurate workforce planning,” it said.

It also pointed to a recommendation that the VA develop a succession plan for its leadership positions and mission-critical occupations.

Those were among more than two dozen high-priority recommendations also including issues related to pandemic response, veterans’ access to timely care, IT, appeals of disability benefits decisions, procurement, and more.

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2022 Federal Employees Handbook