Proactive Oversight: Senior Leader Shares How the VA OIG is Changing Some Healthcare Inspections
Veteran Oversight NowShow Notes
In this episode, host Fred Baker talks with Dr. Julie Kroviak, the principal deputy assistant inspector general of the VA OIG’s Office of Healthcare Inspections, about changes to how cyclical healthcare reviews are conducted. Dr. Kroviak explains how her teams are reworking the Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program cyclical reports to provide more information on the veteran communities being served by VA medical facilities. Additionally, she shares how, for the first time, the VA OIG will start reviewing VA mental health programs cyclically.
“We're going to start with a glimpse of the community that the facility operates in, and that's totally new. We've never done anything like that but giving the reader a sense of who's living in this community, what's the education level, what's the income level, the disease burden, active duty and veteran populations, all of these [factors] sort of really influence how care is delivered, and we want to present that in a reader-friendly kind of glimpse so you can understand what's influencing care and the veterans served in that community.” – Dr. Julie Kroviak
More from Veteran Oversight Now
Each month, the VA Office of Inspector General publishes highlights of our oversight reports, congressional testimony, and investigative work. In August 2025, the VA OIG published 17 reports that included 72 recommendations to VA.
The Honorable Cheryl L. Mason was confirmed by the Senate as the inspector general of the VA on July 31, 2025, and shortly after being sworn in, took up her leadership of the VA OIG on August 4. IG Mason previously served as the chairman of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals at VA. For more information on IG Mason, see her bio.
Each month, the VA Office of Inspector General publishes highlights of our oversight reports, congressional testimony, and investigative work. In June 2025, the VA OIG published nine reports that included 81 recommendations. Report topics varied from an evaluation of VA’s governance of recruitment, relocation, and retention incentives awarded for VHA positions to mental health inspections of the VA Salem Healthcare System in Virginia and the VA Philadelphia Healthcare System in Pennsylvania.
Each month, the VA Office of Inspector General publishes highlights of our oversight reports, congressional testimony, and investigative work. In May 2025, the VA OIG published 11 reports that included 54 recommendations. Report topics varied from an audit of the VHA’s Pain Management, Opioid Safety, and Prescription Drug Monitoring Program to a healthcare inspection to assess allegations of deficiencies in the emergency department care provided to a patient at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center in West Virginia.
This Semiannual Report to Congress summarizes the independent oversight efforts of the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) from October 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025. Visit the VA OIG's website to read the full report.