,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #acai  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #h1      
#bjag,mr4 ,brown introduced the         
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on          
,veterans' ,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
require the ,secretary of ,veterans     
,affairs to establish a continuing      
medical education program for           
non-,department of ,veterans ,affairs   
medical professionals who treat veterans
 to increase knowledge and recognition  
of medical conditions common to         
veterans1 and for other purposes4  #a4  
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,community ,care ,core ,competency  
,act of #bjag4  #b4 ,department of      
,veterans ,affairs continuing education 
program for certain non-,department     
medical professionals  7a7              
,establishment of program  7#a7 ,in     
general ,the ,secretary of ,veterans    
,affairs shall establish a program to   
provide continuing medical education    

material to non-,department medical     
professionals with the goal of--  7,a7  
increasing knowledge and recognition of 
medical conditions common to veterans2  
and  7,b7 improving outreach to veterans
 and family members of veterans4  7#b7  
,education provided ,the program shall  
include education on the following3     
7,a7 ,dealing with patients who are     
veterans or family members of veterans4 
7,b7 ,identifying and treating common   
mental and physical conditions of       
veterans and family members of veterans4
  7,c7 ,the health care system of the   
,department of ,veterans ,affairs4  7,d7
 ,such other matters as the ,secretary  
considers appropriate4  7b7 ,duration of
 program ,the program shall be carried  
out during the five-year period         
beginning on the date of the enactment  
of this ,act4  7c7 ,material provided   
,the continuing medical education       
material provided to non-,department    
medical professionals under the program 
shall be the same material provided to  

medical professionals of the ,department
 to ensure that all medical             
professionals treating veterans have    
access to the same materials1 which     
supports core competencies throughout   
the community4  7d7 ,administration of  
program  7#a7 ,in general ,the          
,secretary shall administer the program 
to participating non-,department medical
 professionals through an ,internet     
website of the ,department of ,veterans 
,affairs4  7#b7 ,curriculum and credit  
provided ,the ,secretary shall determine
 the curriculum of the program and the  
number of hours of credit to provide to 
participating non-,department medical   
professionals for continuing medical    
education4  7#c7 ,accreditation ,the    
,secretary shall ensure that the program
 is accredited in as many ,states as    
practicable4  7#d7 ,consistency with    
existing rules ,the ,secretary shall    
ensure that the program is consistent   
with the rules and regulations of the   
following3  7,a7 ,the medical licensing 

agency of each ,state in which the      
program is accredited4  7,b7 ,such      
medical credentialing organizations as  
the ,secretary considers appropriate4   
7#e7 ,user cost ,the ,secretary shall   
carry out the program at no cost to     
participating non-,department medical   
professionals4  7e7 ,non-,department    
medical professional defined ,in this   
section1 the term non-,department       
medical professional means any          
individual who is licensed by an        
appropriate medical authority in the    
,united ,states and in good standing1 is
 not an employee of the ,department of  
,veterans ,affairs1 and provides care to
 veterans or family members of veterans 
under the laws administered by the      
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs4