I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2499 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 6, 2023 Mrs. Kiggans of Virginia introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs A BILL To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out an information technology system and prioritize certain requirements to manage supply chains for medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the VA Supply Chain Management System Authorization Act . 2. Management of supply chains for medical facilities of Department of Veterans Affairs (a) In general The Secretary may carry out a covered information technology system that— (1) is cloud-based; (2) includes functions relating to— (A) inventory management of both expendable and nonexpendable items covered by the system, with respect to both— (i) physical inventory; and (ii) perpetual inventory; (B) management of the receipt of such items, with respect to— (i) intake; (ii) returns; and (iii) the identification of such items that are recalled; (C) management of the storage of such items, with respect to— (i) local storage; and (ii) centralized storage at a medical facility or warehousing at a different location for one or more medical facilities; (D) management of the distribution of such items; (E) the generation and scanning of barcodes or the use of radio frequency identification technology or other similar inventory tracking technology; (F) reporting, consisting of— (i) standard or preexisting reports; and (ii) customizable or custom-generated reports; and (G) either in the system itself or through an interface with an external information technology system— (i) capital asset management; (ii) maintenance of a catalog of available supplies; and (iii) lifecycle tracking from acquisition of such items through the disposal of such items; (3) with respect to the items covered by the system— (A) includes— (i) medical supplies; (ii) surgical equipment and supplies; (iii) laboratory equipment and supplies; (iv) supplies and capital equipment pertaining to facilities or real property; (v) biomedical equipment; (vi) textiles and apparel; (vii) dental equipment and supplies; and (viii) equipment and supplies relating to the treatment of sleep apnea; (B) may include (but, if not so included in the system itself, the system shall include through an interface with an external information technology system)— (i) prosthetic appliances requiring extensive customization or fitting; (ii) prosthetic appliances not requiring extensive customization or fitting; (iii) pharmaceuticals; (iv) reusable medical equipment; and (v) eyeglasses; and (C) does not include— (i) software; (ii) equipment and supplies of the National Cemetery Administration the management of which cannot be accommodated by a process used by the Veterans Health Administration; or (iii) equipment and supplies of the Veterans Benefits Administration the management of which cannot be accommodated by a process used by the Veterans Health Administration; (4) has existing interfaces with or the capability to interface with— (A) procurement, purchasing, or ordering systems of the Department; (B) the Integrated Financial and Acquisition Management System of the Department of Veterans Affairs; and (C) the electronic health record systems of the Department, including— (i) the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture and Computerized Patient Record System; and (ii) the electronic health record system established under the Electronic Health Record Modernization Program (as defined in section 503 of Veterans Benefits and Transition Act of 2018 ( Public Law 115–407 ; 38 U.S.C. 5701 note prec.)); (5) has the capacity to accommodate not fewer than 50,000 users; and (6) includes any other functions, capabilities, or components as determined by the Secretary. (b) Requirements If the Secretary carries out a covered information technology system under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— (1) determine whether the functions of the system are satisfactory by piloting such functions at one facility of the Department before expanding implementation of the system throughout the Department; and (2) with respect to the functions referred to in subsection (a)(1)(A), prioritize the delivery of inventory management capabilities. (c) Exception Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to information technology systems used by the Secretary at joint facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense. (d) Completion of implementation The Secretary shall complete the implementation of a covered information technology system by not later than three years after the date of the enactment of this Act. (e) Covered information technology system defined In this section, the term covered information technology system means an information technology system, or a system of systems, for the management of supply chains, including with respect to inventory and other functions.