VA National Standards of Practice
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently affirmed its right under the U.S. Constitution to allow VA health care professionals to operate in every State and to establish national standards of practice. To that end, VA leadership, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and VHA program offices are working to develop these national standards of practice.
The VA national standards of practice will be a standardized set of services that all health care professionals in a given occupation can perform if their facility performs such services and they have the proper education, training and skill.
This effort will support VA's authority to deliver health care seamlessly across the system: a requirement highlighted by the COVID-19 crisis. It will also prepare for the implementation of the Electronic Health Record (EHR) over the next eight years.
Establishing National Standards of Practice allows VA to:
- Ensure safe, high-quality care for the Nation’s Veterans.
- Standardize the practice of each health care occupation irrespective of State requirements.
- More efficiently allocate resources to support organizational missions to include national disasters and pandemics.
- Protect VA health care professionals against adverse State actions.
- Leverage a modernized, mobile workforce to support rural areas and crisis response.
- Help ensure a standardized EHR implementation.
