[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1510 Engrossed in House (EH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1510

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
  To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a 
report on the use of cameras in medical facilities of the Department of 
                           Veterans Affairs.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. REPORT ON USE OF CAMERAS IN MEDICAL FACILITIES OF THE 
              DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Report Required.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in 
collaboration with the Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness 
of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Veterans Health 
Administration, and the Office of Construction and Facilities 
Management of the Department, shall submit to the Committees on 
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives a 
report analyzing the policies, use, and maintenance of cameras deployed 
by the Department for patient safety and law enforcement at medical 
facilities of the Department.
    (b) Elements.--The report required by subsection (a) shall include 
the following:
            (1) A comprehensive review of the policies and procedures 
        of the Department regarding the use and maintenance of cameras 
        with respect to the following:
                    (A) Patient safety, including--
                            (i) an analysis of how cameras are used to 
                        monitor staff and patients;
                            (ii) an analysis of the specific units 
                        within medical facilities in which the use of 
                        cameras is prioritized to protect patient 
                        safety;
                            (iii) an analysis of the procedures 
                        regarding the positioning of cameras;
                            (iv) an analysis of the extent to which 
                        cameras monitor locations where drugs are 
                        stored to ensure that drugs are accounted for, 
                        and an assessment of whether this is a widely 
                        used practice; and
                            (v) an analysis of the actions taken to 
                        preserve and protect patient privacy.
                    (B) Law enforcement of medical facilities of the 
                Department, including--
                            (i) how exterior cameras are used;
                            (ii) how interior cameras are used; and
                            (iii) an analysis of locations, interior 
                        and exterior, in which camera use is 
                        prioritized.
            (2) Recommendations of the Secretary to improve patient 
        safety and law enforcement, including--
                    (A) the placement and maintenance of cameras;
                    (B) the storage of data from such cameras;
                    (C) the authority of supervisors at medical 
                facilities of the Department to review recordings from 
                cameras;
                    (D) the number of staff required to monitor live 
                footage from cameras at each medical facility of the 
                Department;
                    (E) the funding necessary to address shortfalls 
                with respect to cameras and the specific uses for such 
                funding;
                    (F) any additional actions required to preserve and 
                protect patient privacy; and
                    (G) such other matters the Secretary determines 
                appropriate.
    (c) Camera Defined.--In this section, the term ``camera'' means any 
video camera used in a medical facility of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs for purposes of patient safety or law enforcement, but does not 
include cameras used solely by the Inspector General of the Department 
of Veterans Affairs to assist in criminal investigations conducted by 
the Inspector General.

            Passed the House of Representatives May 18, 2021.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
117th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 1510

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

  To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a 
report on the use of cameras in medical facilities of the Department of 
                           Veterans Affairs.