Headquarters 354th Civil Affairs Brigade

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VA Denver Distribution Center General Overview
James R. Sandman, Executive Director VA Office of
Acquisition and Materiel Management
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Our Mission
Provide medical products and services to our
nations veterans and government partners by
continuously improving our standards of quality,
value, timeliness, and convenience as a
competitive, responsible facility, accountable to
taxpayers.
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DDC Organizational Chart
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Manage Contracting, Acquisition and Distribution
of

• Hearing aids, hearing aid parts,
  accessories, and batteries
• Hearing Aid Repairs
• Assistive devices
• Prosthetic socks and related items
• Orthotic Softgoods
• Aids for the visually impaired

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Stakeholders

• Veterans
• Audiology and Speech Pathology Service
• Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service
• Blind Rehabilitation Service
• Other VA Services
• Office of Acquisition and Materiel Management
• Other Government Agencies
• Suppliers

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Other Government Agencies (OGA)

• U.S. Army - MOU, Dec. 22, 1997
• Provide Hearing Aids/Accessories, Batteries
• Additional OGAs August 1999
• Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Corps
• Government Purchase Card
• Computer Internet Access

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Manage National Hearing Aid Repair Program

• Manage operate the VA national hearing
  aid repair program
• Over 222 thousand Hearing Aids
• Repaired in FY04
• In-house and Commercially Repaired
• In-house 4
• Commercially 96

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Procurement

• Over 120 million in procurements annually
• Assist with VA standardization efforts
• Approximately 95 of procurements are hearing aid
  related

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Distribution

• Many line items are stocked at DDC
• Distribution is made to veterans, VA clinics and
  OGA facilities
• Hearing aids are delivered directly to clinics

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Workload Orders Processed(thousands)
(millions)
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DDC Benefits to Veterans

• Access to advanced technology
• Reduced waiting times
• Higher patient satisfaction
• Direct access to repair and battery services

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DDC Benefits to Clinicians

• Clinical and technical support
• Management support
• Software support and development
• Remote Order Entry System (ROES)
• National contracting
• Access to training for technology changes
• Product standardization
• Enhanced clinician productivity

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DDC Benefits to Prosthetics and Sensory Aids
Service

• Simplified procurement
• Prompt payment
• Reduced workload (automated eligibility checks)
• Allows Prosthetics to absorb increased demand for
  services (eligibility reform)
• Services shifted to DDC that otherwise would have
  to be provided locally (760,378 individual
  orders, 20.7 million items and services)
• Virtual FTEE support

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Customer Responsiveness

• Custom Hearing Aid Orders
• Electronic Same or next day to vendors
• Stocked Commodity Orders
• Emergency Shipped same day with overnight
  delivery
• Priority Shipped next day with 2-3 day delivery
• Routine Shipped in five days with five day
  delivery
• Hearing Aid Repairs
• Commercial - repaired and returned in 17 business
  days
• DDC - serviced and returned in 8 business days

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Values Added

• Electronic Ordering System
• Remote Order Entry System
• Secure Internet
• Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
• Purchase Orders/Amendments
• Invoices/Credit Memos

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Values Added(continued)

• Direct Ordering Capability by Veteran
• Direct Delivery to Veteran or Facility
• Worldwide Distribution
• Inventory Management System

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Values Added(continued)

• Aggregate Requirements for Entire VA
• Savings to VHA (costs and time)
• Electronic Sales Reports and Billing
• Data Warehousing
• National Contracting
• Full Array of Financial Services

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Benefits of ROES

• Electronic
• Order Processing
• Order Adjustments
• Hearing Aid Orders
• Invoice Certification
• Registration Authorizing Batteries and
  Repairs

• Standardization
• Station Orders
• Status Reports
• Reduce Order Processing Time
• Warranty and Out of Warranty Repairs

ROES

• Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) - notes
  and audiograms
• National DDC Health Record Databases and
  Registries
• Enhanced Clinician Productivity
• Increased Patient Satisfaction
• Reduced Wait Times

• Automation
• Cost and Trend Reports
• Error Detection
• Eligibility Check
• Supports Electronic Data Interchange
• Product Search and Cost Comparison

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The Future

• Orthotic Softgoods
• Cochlear implants
• Assistive Listening Devices
• Speech devices
• Aids for the Blind
• Other VA/OGA support

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VA OAMM DDC Thank You
DDC - Putting Veterans First
James R. Sandman Executive Director Voice
303-914-5150 E-mail jim.sandman_at_mail.va.gov