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Open Recommendations

COVID-19: Pandemic Lessons Highlight Need for Public Health Situational Awareness Network
GAO-22-104600
Jun 23, 2022
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12 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of HHS should prioritize the development of the public health situational awareness and biosurveillance network by designating a lead operational division for PAHPAIA implementation. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of HHS should clearly define the roles and responsibilities for the lead operational division responsible for PAHPAIA implementation. The roles and responsibilities should include the specific activities required in PAHPAIA. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of HHS should identify the office responsible for overseeing the completion of the activities performed by the lead operational division and clearly define its roles and responsibilities. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of HHS should ensure that the lead operational division, in developing the PAHPAIA work plan, includes the steps to be taken to address all of the required actions in PAHPAIA. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of HHS should ensure that the lead operational division, in developing the PAHPAIA work plan, includes specific near-term and longterm actions that can be completed to show progress in developing the network. (Recommendation 5)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of HHS should ensure that the lead operational division, in developing the PAHPAIA work plan, includes time frames for implementing the near-term and long-term actions. (Recommendation 6)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Electronic Health Records: Additional DOD Actions Could Improve Cost and Schedule Estimating for New System
GAO-22-104521
Jun 08, 2022
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should direct the Program Executive Officer of Defense Health Management Systems to ensure that the program office develops a reliable cost estimate using best practices described in GAO's Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide, in particular, by addressing those cost practices that were partially or minimally met. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should direct the Program Executive Officer of Defense Health Management Systems to ensure that the program office develops a reliable schedule using best practices described in GAO's Schedule Assessment Guide, in particular, by addressing those schedule practices that were partially met. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Electronic Health Records: VA Needs to Address Data Management Challenges for New System
GAO-22-103718
Feb 01, 2022
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Veterans Affairs The Secretary of VA should direct the Deputy Secretary to establish and use performance measures and goals to ensure that the quality of migrated data meets stakeholder needs for accessibility, accuracy, and appropriateness prior to future system deployments. (Recommendation 1)
Open
VA concurred and stated that the department will take steps to implement this recommendation.
Department of Veterans Affairs The Secretary of VA should direct the Deputy Secretary to use a stakeholder register to improve the identification and engagement of all relevant EHRM stakeholders to address their reporting needs. (Recommendation 2)
Open
VA concurred and stated that the department will take steps to implement this recommendation.

Freedom of Information Act: Selected Agencies Adapted to the COVID-19 Pandemic but Face Ongoing Challenges and Backlogs
GAO-22-105040
Jan 26, 2022
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Labor The Chief FOIA Officer of the Department of Labor should address risks to sustained backlog reduction efforts by identifying training and other needs to resolve data quality issues as part of its regular oversight of component FOIA programs. (Recommendation 1)
Open
The Department of Labor agreed with this recommendation. Labor said it is taking several steps to address the recommendation, including establishing a formal FOIA backlog reduction plan and implementing additional quality controls on data input and reporting. We will continue to monitor Labor's progress.
Department of Homeland Security The Chief Privacy Officer of the Department of Homeland Security, as the department's Chief FOIA Officer, should work with agency components to develop backlog reduction plans that specify goals and measures for reducing the FOIA backlog, provide specific milestones for backlog reduction efforts, and identify planned actions to reduce backlog. (Recommendation 2)
Open
DHS concurred with the recommendation. DHS stated that as of June 2022, the Deputy Chief FOIA Officer had briefed Component FOIA Officers on the findings of this GAO report, and instructed them to begin work on backlog reduction plans and obtain appropriate metrics for these plans. DHS estimated that most draft backlog reduction plans will be completed by the end of fiscal year 2022, and that finalized implementation plans will be completed by January 31, 2023. DHS told us by the end of July 2022, they will also transition to an upgraded processing system known as "SecureRelease" which could affect these dates. Further, DHS stated as of June 2022 they experienced a surge in FOIA requests received that may affect the Department's ability to maintain the backlog reduction achieved in FY 2021. We will continue to monitor DHS's progress.
Department of Agriculture The Chief FOIA Officer of the Department of Agriculture should better document agency backlog reduction efforts, including its milestones and planned actions for reducing its FOIA backlog, and address challenges and risks to departmental backlog reduction efforts. (Recommendation 3)
Open
USDA stated that it concurred with our recommendation via email. When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Office of Information Policy The Director of the Office of Information Policy should evaluate the usefulness and burden of performance information collected, and identify ways reporting can inform current and emerging FOIA challenges and risks, such as the number of requests for which unusual circumstances apply or the effect of litigation on overall FOIA request processing and backlog. (Recommendation 4)
Open
The Office of Information Policy (OIP) agreed with the recommendation, stating OIP is always looking for ways to both reduce the burden on agencies and make sure that the metrics collected provide the most value for effective FOIA administration and public transparency. Further, as the Attorney General's new FOIA Guidelines issued on March 15, 2022 states, OIP plans to incorporate the recommendation when issuing new Chief FOIA Officer Report Guidelines for 2023. OIP expects to issue these new reporting guidelines by October 2022. We will continue to monitor OIP's progress.
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