Report Summary

This Office of Inspector General Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program report describes the results of a focused evaluation of the inpatient and outpatient care provided at the Erie VA Medical Center and associated outpatient clinics in Ohio and Pennsylvania. This evaluation focused on five key operational areas:

• Leadership and organizational risks

• Quality, safety, and value

• Medical staff privileging

• Environment of care

• Mental health (emergency department and urgent care center suicide prevention initiatives)

The OIG issued five recommendations for improvement in two areas:

1. Medical Staff Privileging

• Professional practice evaluations

o Completion by providers with equivalent training and similar privileges

o Consideration of evaluation results by the Medical Executive Committee

• Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluations

o Incorporating service-specific criteria

o Basing service chiefs’ reprivileging recommendations on evaluation activities

2. Mental Health

• Completion of Comprehensive Suicide Risk Evaluations