12 2 STA T .463PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 1 8 1 —J A N .28 , 2008 (2)AVAIL A B ILI TY T OPU BLI C.—TheS e cr e ta r yofD efe ns ean d the Secretary of V eterans Affa i rs sha l l m a k ea v aila b le to the pu blic each report submitted under para g raph ( 1 ) , including by posting such report on the I nternet w ebsite of the Depart - ment of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, respectively, that is available to the public. (i) C O M PT R OLL E R G E N ERAL A S SESSMENT O F IMPLEMENTATION.— N ot later than si x months after the date of the enactment of this Act and every six months thereafter until the completion of the implementation of electronic health record systems or capabili- ties described in subsection (d), the Comptroller General of the U nited States shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con- gress a report setting forth the assessment of the Comptroller General of the progress of the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs in implementing electronic health record systems or capabilities described in subsection (d). SEC.163 6.E NHA NCE DP E R S O NNE L A UT HOR I TIES F OR THE DEPART -M ENT OF DEFENSE FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS FOR CARE AND TREATMENT OF W OUNDED AND IN J URED MEM B ERS OF THE ARMED FORCES. (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1 59 9c of title 1 0 , United States Code, is amended to read as follows
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‘ §159 9 c.Health ca r e p r of e s s i o n als
enhance d appoint m ent and compensation a u thorit y for personnel for care and treatment of w ounded and in j ured mem -b ers of the armed forces ‘ ‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense may, at the discre- tion of the Secretary, exercise any authority for the appointment and pay of health care personnel under chapter 74 of title 38 for purposes of the recruitment, employment, and retention of civilian health care professionals for the Department of Defense if the Secretary determines that the exercise of such authority is necessary in order to provide or enhance the capacity of the Department to provide care and treatment for members of the armed forces who are wounded or in j ured on active duty in the armed forces and to support the ongoing patient care and medical readiness, education, and training re q uirements of the Department of Defense. ‘‘(b) R ECRUITMENT OF P ERSONNEL.—(1) The Secretaries of the military departments shall each develop and implement a strategy to disseminate among appropriate personnel of the military depart- ments authorities and best practices for the recruitment of medical and health professionals, including the authorities under subsection (a). ‘‘(2) E ach strategy under paragraph (1) shall— ‘‘(A) assess current recruitment policies, procedures, and practices of the military department concerned to assure that such strategy facilitates the implementation of efficiencies which reduce the time required to fill vacant positions for medical and health professionals
and ‘‘( B ) clearly identify processes and actions that will be used to inform and educate military and civilian personnel responsible for the recruitment of medical and health profes- sionals. Deadlin e s.R e port s.
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