Emerging therapeutic interventions at the Department of Veterans Affairs

(a) Report (1) In general Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and biannually thereafter, the Under Secretary for Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and Senate a report on the activities of the Department with respect to emerging therapeutic interventions, including psychedelic-assisted therapies. (2) Contents At a minimum, each report under paragraph (1) shall, with respect to emerging therapeutic interventions, include— (A) a summary of research activities, including a list of active and planned clinical trials, of the Department relating to emerging therapeutic interventions; (B) an identification of key findings from clinical outcomes and patient-reported outcomes made during clinical trials conducted or supported by the Department; (C) the number of veterans enrolled in treatment programs and clinical trials related to emerging therapeutic interventions; (D) interagency coordination efforts of the Department, including with the Food and Drug Administration, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and other relevant government agencies; (E) recommendations to improve the delivery of innovative therapies to veterans, including psychedelic-assisted therapies; and (F) recommendations for legislative or administrative actions relating to emerging therapeutic interventions. (b) Workforce readiness The Under Secretary for Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall develop a workforce implementation-readiness plan for emerging therapeutic interventions (including psychedelic-assisted therapies), including— (1) conducting a workforce-readiness assessment to identify clinicians and peer support specialists with prior training or certification relevant to emerging therapeutic interventions and gaps in training, supervision, and clinical capacity necessary to support safe and effective implementation of such interventions; (2) developing a standardized, competency-based training framework for clinicians and peer support specialists participating in emerging therapeutic interventions, including safety monitoring, supervision standards, competent care, interdisciplinary collaboration, and other areas where appropriate; and (3) developing and implementing a plan to ensure training, using such framework, is conducted, and credentialing standards are applied, with respect to the appropriate clinicians and medical centers of the Department, including any centers of excellence, in a manner designed to ensure access across each Veterans Integrated Service Network.