,i #aagth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ijjb ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,september #bh1 #bjbb,ms4 ,garcia of ,texas introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs to establish a pilot program for gynecologic cancer care coordination at the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,veterans' ,cancer ,care ,coordinator ,act of #bjbb4 #b4 ,pilot program on gynecologic cancer care coordination 7a7 ,establishment ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall establish a pilot program 7in this section referred to as the ,program7 for gynecologic cancer care coordination at the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs1 including through the designation of a gynecologic cancer care coordinator of the ,department4 7b7 ,eligible participants ,a veteran is eligible to participate in the program if the veteran-- 7#a7 has been diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer2 and 7#b7 is eligible for health care furnished through the ,veterans ,community ,care ,program under section #agjc of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 at a non-,department facility4 7c7 ,locations ,the ,secretary shall select not fewer than five medical centers of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs at which to carry out the ,program1 including one medical center that primarily serves rural veterans1 as determined by the ,secretary4 7d7 ,duties of gynecologic cancer care coordinator ,under the ,program1 the designated gynecologic cancer care coordinator shall be responsible for carrying out the following duties3 7#a7 ,ensuring the coordination of care between-- 7,a7 clinicians of the ,department and community gynecologic cancer care providers2 7,b7 clinicians of the ,department1 ,women's ,veteran ,program ,managers1 and ,women's ,health ,medical ,directors2 and 7,c7 any other relevant clinicians of the ,department and community care providers who provide care to participating veterans4 7#b7 ,working with the ,office of ,community ,care of the relevant medical facility of the ,department regarding authorizations of care in the community1 including for participating veterans whose mental health screening results indicate the presence of military sexual trauma1 depression1 domestic or intimate partner violence1 or post-traumatic stress disorder4 7#c7 ,making regular contact with each participating veteran when the veteran receives care from a community care provider to evaluate the needs of the veteran1 including through an assessment of the mental health of the veteran 7including as such mental health and trauma history related to the cancer diagnosis of the veteran74 7#d7 ,monitoring-- 7,a7 the services furnished under the ,program to participating veterans2 7,b7 the outcomes relating to the health of such participating veterans1 including remission1 metastasis1 and death2 and 7,c7 the data relating to gynecologic cancer care collected at a medical facility of the ,department 7using relevant databases of the ,veterans ,health ,administration or other ,department databases71 including-- 7i7 the demographics of participating veterans who have gynecologic cancer2 and 7ii7 the number of participating veterans being treated for gynecologic cancer4 7#e7 ,providing particular information to participating veterans1 including-- 7,a7 how to seek emergency care at the emergency department closest to the veteran1 including the requirement for the veteran or the community care provider to notify the ,department when the veteran receives emergency treatment relating to the cancer of the veteran for the ,department to authorize payment for such emergency treatment2 and 7,b7 information about mental health resources1 including with respect to information encouraging follow-up care for depression4 7#f7 ,documenting certain information in the electronic health records of participating veterans1 including-- 7,a7 the documentation of the contact described in paragraph 7#c72 7,b7 the contact information of the community gynecologic cancer care providers of such participating veterans2 and 7,c7 the cancer diagnosis of such participating veterans4 7#g7 ,carrying out such other duties as may be determined appropriate by the ,secretary4 7e7 ,report 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than two years after the date on which the ,secretary commences the ,program1 the ,secretary shall submit to the ,committees on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate and the ,house of ,representatives a report containing the following3 7,a7 ,a comparison of the outcomes of veterans who have participated in the ,program to the outcomes of non-participating veterans described in paragraph 7#b71 including with respect to the following3 7i7 ,health outcomes1 including 7for the most recent two years of available data7-- 7,i7 the percentage of such veterans who have experienced a cancer-related death2 7,,ii7 the percentage of such veterans who have entered remission for gynecologic cancer2 and 7,,iii7 the percentage of such veterans who have been diagnosed with mental health disorders determined relevant by the ,secretary for purposes of the comparison 7including anxiety1 depression1 and post-traumatic stress disorder74 7ii7 ,timeliness of care furnished under chapter #ag of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 including the average time that elapses between the initial diagnosis and each successive stage of treatment for gynecologic cancer4 7iii7 ,patient safety associated with such care1 including the number of errors in medical care that rise to the level of never events 7such as a foreign body left in a veteran during surgery74 7iv7 ,patient satisfaction associated with such care1 including the results of a patient satisfaction survey administered to such veterans on the receipt of adequate pain management from health care providers of the ,department1 mental health resources from such providers1 and overall quality of such care4 7,b7 ,an evaluation of whether to expand the ,program or make such ,program permanent4 7,c7 ,any other matter the ,secretary determines appropriate4 7#b7 ,non-participating veterans described ,a non-participating veteran described in this paragraph is a female veteran who-- 7,a7 has not participated in the ,program2 7,b7 is enrolled in the patient enrollment system of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs established and operated under section #agje of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code2 and 7,c7 has been diagnosed with gynecologic cancer4 7f7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,the term community care provider means a health care provider located at a non-,department facility who provides care 7other than care related to gynecologic cancer7 to veterans under section #agjc of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 or any other law administered by the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs4 7#b7 ,the term community gynecologic cancer care provider means a gynecologic cancer care provider located at a non-,department facility who provides care related to gynecologic cancer to veterans under section #agjc of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 or any other law administered by the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs4 7#c7 ,the term gynecologic cancer means cervical cancer1 ovarian cancer1 uterine cancer1 vaginal cancer1 and vulvar cancer4 7#d7 ,the term non-,department facilities has the meaning given that term in section #agja of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#e7 ,the term participating veteran means a veteran who is participating in the ,program4 7#f7 ,the term ,women's ,health ,medical ,director means a ,women's ,health ,medical ,director described in the directive of the ,veterans ,health ,administration titled ,health ,care ,services for ,women ,veterans 7directive #accj4ja71 or any successor directive4 7#g7 ,the term ,women's ,veteran ,program ,manager means a ,women's ,veterans ,program ,manager described in the directive of the ,veterans ,health ,administration titled ,women ,veterans ,program ,manager 7directive #accj4jb71 or any successor directive4