Open Recommendations

The Chief, Direct File, should ensure that the total costs of Direct File include the costs from all support functions.

On March 13, 2024, we alerted the Chief, Direct File, to the large number of Direct File returns being rejected for this reason. We suggested that the IRS update Direct File so that taxpayers obtain their prior year AGI from their Individual Online Account, because the IRS uses the same authentication requirements for both Direct File and the Individual Online Account.

The Chief, Direct File, should determine what caused taxpayers to not receive their prior year AGI from their Individual Online Account and update the computer programming accordingly.

The Chief, Taxpayer Services, should ensure that errors are corrected on the tax returns for the six taxpayers whose returns were not corrected and had inaccurate Earned Income Tax Credit computations and refund their overpayment.

The Chief, Direct File, should notify the 669 taxpayers we identified of their potential eligibility to claim the education credits. The notice should inform them of their potential eligibility and steps for claiming the credits.

The Chief, Direct File, should implement a solution that will allow a taxpayer’s authentication from the CSP to be used for Direct File chats. This solution should follow all relevant security standards.

The Chief, Direct File, should improve the scheduling and monitoring of Direct File employees to ensure the efficient use of these resources.

The Chief, Direct File, should improve the Direct File chat technology to systemically queue up chats for assistors, based upon the assistor’s experience.

The Veterans Integrated Service Network Director, in conjunction with facility directors, ensures facility community care oversight councils function according to their charters and meet the required number of times per fiscal year.

The Veterans Integrated Service Network Director, in conjunction with facility directors, reassess community care staffing needs and act as necessary.

The Veterans Integrated Service Network Director, in conjunction with facility directors, ensures facility community care staff enter community care patient safety events into the Joint Patient Safety Reporting system.

The Veterans Integrated Service Network Director, in conjunction with facility directors, ensures patient safety managers or designees brief community care patient safety event trends, lessons learned, and corrective actions at community care oversight council meetings.

The Veterans Integrated Service Network Director, in conjunction with facility directors, ensures facility staff import all community care documents into the patients electronic health record within five business days of receipt.

The Veterans Integrated Service Network Director, in conjunction with facility directors, requires facility community care staff to use the significant findings alert to notify the ordering provider of abnormal diagnostic imaging results.

The Veterans Integrated Service Network Director, in conjunction with facility directors, ensures facility community care staff make two additional attempts to obtain community providers medical documentation within 90 days of the appointment after administratively closing consults that are not low risk.

The Veterans Integrated Service Network Director, in conjunction with facility directors, ensures facility community care staff process community providers requests for additional services within three business days of receipt.

The Veterans Integrated Service Network Director, in conjunction with facility directors, ensures facility community care staff send approval or denial letters to community providers for requests for additional services.

The Veterans Integrated Service Network Director, in conjunction with facility directors, ensures facility community care staff send approval or denial letters to patients for requests for additional services.

The Veterans Integrated Service Network Director, in conjunction with facility directors, ensures facility community care staff create and use the Community Care"Care Coordination Plan note to document all care coordination activities for consults with an assigned level of care other than basic.

The Veterans Integrated Service Network Director, in conjunction with facility directors, ensures facility community care staff confirm patients attended their community care appointments.

The Veterans Integrated Service Network Director, in conjunction with facility directors, ensures facility community care staff create the Community Care"Urgent Care Record note in the patients electronic health record when they receive medical documentation from the community provider.

Confirm all arrow keys are accurately recorded in the Retail and Delivery Analytics and Reports system and, when necessary, returned to the National Materials Customer Service, and/or reported to the Postal Inspection Service for the Sacramento Main Post Office, Fort Sutter Station, and Rancho Cordova Main Post Office.

Establish internal controls to verify facilities are following the 24-hour arrow key accountability process, including the establishment of barcodes for every key assigned to city routes at Tier 1 facilities, or using the PS Form 1106, as required.

Establish internal controls to validate that facilities are remediating arrow key deficiencies identified by the Postal Inspection Service.

Provide regularly recurring training on arrow key accountability processes, security policies, and responsibilities to managers and supervisors in the Sacramento, CA, area, and track training compliance.