Defense health agency: oversight needed to better ensure that children are screened, tested, and treated for lead exposure : report to congressional committees

Defense health agency: oversight needed to better ensure that children are screened, tested, and treated for lead exposure : report to congressional committees

Collection:
Health Policy and Services Research
Contributor(s):
United States. Government Accountability Office, issuing body.
Publication:
Washington, DC : United States Government Accountability Office, July 2022
Language(s):
English
Format:
Text
Subject(s):
Child Health -- legislation & jurisprudence
Diagnostic Screening Programs -- legislation & jurisprudence
Government Regulation
Lead Poisoning -- prevention & control
Legislation, Medical
Child
United States
United States. Defense Health Agency
United States. Department of Defense
Genre(s):
Technical Report
Abstract:
Why GAO did this study. The Department of Defense’s (DOD) TRICARE program provides care to eligible pediatric beneficiaries through its military medical treatment facilities or civilian providers. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA 2020) required DOD to (1) establish guidelines for its facility providers on screening, testing, and reporting blood lead levels in children; (2) disseminate these guidelines to its facility providers; and (3) submit to Congress a report on the number of children screened for an elevated risk of lead exposure, tested for lead in the blood, and the number found to have an elevated blood lead level. NDAA 2020 also included a provision for GAO to report on the effectiveness of DOD’s pediatric lead processes. This report (1) describes the guidelines DHA established for facility providers for screening, testing, treating, and reporting of blood lead levels in children and how DOD disseminates them, (2) examines DHA oversight of facility provider adherence to the guidelines, and (3) describes the reliability—accuracy and completeness—of the data in DOD’s report to Congress. GAO reviewed relevant DOD guidelines; interviewed DHA and military service officials; and analyzed the reliability of DOD’s report to Congress on pediatric lead. What GAO recommends. GAO is recommending that DHA develop a plan, including time frames, to implement a process for overseeing military medical treatment facility providers’ adherence to pediatric lead processes. DOD concurred with the recommendation.
Copyright:
The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
Extent:
1 online resource (1 PDF file (ii, 19 pages))
Illustrations:
Illustrations
NLM Unique ID:
9918506287906676 (See catalog record)
Permanent Link:
http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918506287906676