12 2 STA T .4 1 6 1 PUBLIC LA W 11 0–389—O CT. 10 , 2008 (4)Theus e of e l e ctr o ni ce xam ination tem p lates in con j unc - tion w ith the sche d ule for ratin g disa b ilities under section 1 1 5 5 of title 38,U nited S tates C ode . (5) Such changes as ma y be re q uired to the electronic health record system of the D epartment of V eterans A ffairs and the Department of Defense to ensure that Veterans B ene- fits Administration claims examiners can access the a v ailable electronic medical information of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense. ( 6 ) The provision of bi-directional access to medical records and service records between the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense. ( 7 ) The availability, on a secure I nternet website of the Department of Veterans Affairs, of a portal that can be used by a claimant to chec k on the status of any claim submitted by that claimant and that provides information, if applicable, on — (A) whether a decision has been reached with respect to such a claim and notice of the decision
or (B) if no such decision has been reached, notice of— (i) whether the application submitted by the claim- ant is complete; (ii) whether the Secretary requires additional information or evidence to substantiate the claim; (iii) the estimated date on which a decision with respect to the claim is expected to be made; and (iv) the stage at which the claim is being processed as of the date on which such status is checked. (c) REVI E WOF BE STPRAC TICES A NDL ESSONS LEARNED.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall review— (1) best practices and lessons learned within the Depart- ment of Veterans Affairs; and ( 2 ) the use of the technology known as ‘ ‘VistA ’ ’ by other G overnment entities and private sector organi z ations who employ information technology and automated decision support software. (d) RED U CTION OF C L AI M S PROCESSIN G TIME.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall ensure that a plan is developed that, not later than three years after implementation, includes information technology to the extent possible to reduce the proc- essing time for each compensation and pension claim processed by the Veterans Benefits Administration. The performance for claims processing under this plan shall be adjusted for changes to the numbers of claims filed in a given period, the complexity of those claims, and any changes to the basic claims processing rules which occur during the assessment period. (e) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall consult with information technology designers at the Veterans Benefits Administration, the Veterans H ealth Administration, VistA managers, the Secretary of Defense, appropriate officials of other Government agencies, appropriate individuals in the private and public sectors, veterans service organizations, and other relevant service organizations. (f) RE P ORT TO CONGRESS.— N ot later than April 1, 2 0 10, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the review and comprehensive plan required under this section. Deadlin e .
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