IIB 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1510 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 19, 2021 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

AN ACT 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to 

Congress a report on the use of cameras in medical 

facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. REPORT ON USE OF CAMERAS IN MEDICAL FA2 CILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET3 ERANS AFFAIRS. 

4 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than one year 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

6 of Veterans Affairs, in collaboration with the Office of Op7 erations, Security, and Preparedness of the Department 

8 of Veterans Affairs, the Veterans Health Administration, 

9 and the Office of Construction and Facilities Management 

10 of the Department, shall submit to the Committees on 

11 Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Rep12 resentatives a report analyzing the policies, use, and main13 tenance of cameras deployed by the Department for pa14 tient safety and law enforcement at medical facilities of 

15 the Department. 

16 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection 

17 (a) shall include the following: 

18 (1) A comprehensive review of the policies and 

19 procedures of the Department regarding the use and 

20 maintenance of cameras with respect to the fol21 lowing: 

22 (A) Patient safety, including— 

23 (i) an analysis of how cameras are 

24 used to monitor staff and patients; 

25 (ii) an analysis of the specific units 

26 within medical facilities in which the use of 


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HR 1510 RFS

1 cameras is prioritized to protect patient 

2 safety; 

3 (iii) an analysis of the procedures re4 garding the positioning of cameras; 

5 (iv) an analysis of the extent to which 

6 cameras monitor locations where drugs are 

7 stored to ensure that drugs are accounted 

8 for, and an assessment of whether this is 

9 a widely used practice; and 

10 (v) an analysis of the actions taken to 

11 preserve and protect patient privacy. 

12 (B) Law enforcement of medical facilities 

13 of the Department, including— 

14 (i) how exterior cameras are used; 

15 (ii) how interior cameras are used; 

16 and 

17 (iii) an analysis of locations, interior 

18 and exterior, in which camera use is 

19 prioritized. 

20 (2) Recommendations of the Secretary to im21 prove patient safety and law enforcement, includ22 ing— 

23 (A) the placement and maintenance of 

24 cameras; 

25 (B) the storage of data from such cameras; 


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1 (C) the authority of supervisors at medical 

2 facilities of the Department to review record3 ings from cameras; 

4 (D) the number of staff required to mon5 itor live footage from cameras at each medical 

6 facility of the Department; 

7 (E) the funding necessary to address 

8 shortfalls with respect to cameras and the spe9 cific uses for such funding; 

10 (F) any additional actions required to pre11 serve and protect patient privacy; and 

12 (G) such other matters the Secretary de13 termines appropriate. 

14 (c) CAMERA DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

15 ‘‘camera’’ means any video camera used in a medical facil16 ity of the Department of Veterans Affairs for purposes 

17 of patient safety or law enforcement, but does not include 

18 cameras used solely by the Inspector General of the De19 partment of Veterans Affairs to assist in criminal inves20 tigations conducted by the Inspector General. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 18, 2021. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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