#aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #bba ,,an ,,act ,to amend title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 to require the ,under ,secretary of ,health to report major adverse personnel actions involving certain health care employees to the ,national ,practitioner ,data ,bank and to applicable ,state licensing boards1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs ,provider ,accountability ,act4 #b4 ,accountability within ,veterans ,health ,administration 7a7 ,reporting major adverse actions to ,national ,practitioner ,data ,bank and ,state licensing boards ,section #gdfa of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7f7 7#a7 ,whenever the ,under ,secretary for ,health 7or an official designated by the ,under ,secretary7 brings charges based on conduct or performance against a section #gdja7a7 employee and as a result of those charges a covered major adverse action is taken against the employee1 the ,under ,secretary shall1 not later than #cj days after the date on which such covered major adverse action is carried out-- 7,a7 transmit to the ,national ,practitioner ,data ,bank of the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services and the applicable ,state licensing board the name of the employee1 a description of the covered major adverse action1 and a description of the reason for the covered major adverse action2 and 7,b7 update the ,vet,pro ,system1 or successor system1 with a record of the covered major adverse action taken and an indication that information was transmitted under subparagraph 7,a74 7#b7 ,the ,under ,secretary for ,health-- 7,a7 shall enroll all #gdja7a7 employees in a continuous query of their record within the ,national ,practitioner ,data ,bank2 and 7,b7 shall develop and implement a mechanism for maintaining and updating the information collected through such continuous query within the ,vet,pro ,system1 or successor system1 to facilitate the sharing of such information between ,veterans ,integrated ,service ,networks4 7#c7 ,in this subsection1 the term covered major adverse action means a major adverse action with respect to a section #gdja7a7 employee that originated from circumstances in which the behavior of the employee so substantially failed to meet generally-accepted standards of clinical practice as to raise reasonable concern for safety of patients4 4 7b7 ,prohibition on signing settlements with certain clauses 7#a7 ,in general ,except as provided in paragraph 7#b71 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs may not enter into a settlement agreement relating to an adverse action against a section #gdja7a7 employee under which the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs would be required to conceal a serious medical error or a lapse in generally-accepted standards of clinical practice4 7#b7 ,exception ,paragraph 7#a7 shall not apply to a negative record if the head of the ,office of ,accountability and ,whistleblower ,protection of the ,department and the ,special ,counsel 7established by section #abaa of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code7 jointly certify that the negative record is not legitimate4 7c7 ,training on credentialing and privileging ,the ,under ,secretary for ,health of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs shall provide to all staff of the ,veterans ,health ,administration who handle hiring1 privileging1 and credentialing mandatory training on-- 7#a7 all policies of the ,veterans ,health ,administration for credentialing and privileging2 and 7#b7 when and how to report adverse actions to the ,national ,practitioner ,data ,bank of the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services1 ,state licensing boards1 and other relevant entities4 7d7 ,sense of ,congress on updates to the ,,vha handbook ,it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 ,congress recognizes that the confusion regarding practices in the ,veterans ,health ,administration for reporting to ,state licensing boards stems from a lack of guidance in the ,veterans ,health ,administration handbook #aajj4ah2 7#b7 ,congress strongly recommends that the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs update such handbook to ensure that employees of the ,veterans ,health ,administration1 officials of the ,veterans ,integrated ,services ,networks1 and officials of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs understand and are able to utilize the role of ,state licensing boards to effectively prevent instances of failed reporting and future patient safety concerns2 7#c7 ,congress recognizes the broad authority of the ,veterans ,health ,administration to report to ,state licensing boards those employed or separated health care professionals whose behavior and clinical practice so substantially failed to meet generally-accepted standards of clinical practice as to raise reasonable concern for safety of patients and requests that such handbook is updated to reflect appropriate reporting channels to ensure employee understanding of those procedures and authorities2 and 7#d7 in developing the new handbook1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs should consult with-- 7,a7 ,state licensing boards2 7,b7 the ,centers for ,medicare ,medicaid ,services2 7,c7 the ,national ,practitioner ,data ,bank of the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services2 and 7,d7 the exclusive representative of section #gdja7a7 employees4 7e7 ,section #gdja7a7 employee defined ,in this section1 the term section #gdja7a7 employee has the meaning given that term in section #gdfa7;c77#a7 of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code4 ,passed the ,senate ,december #ai1 #bjai4,secretary