The Office of Inspector General is an independent organization with the goal of minimizing fraud, waste, and abuse in the Department of Veterans Affairs' programs, activities and functions. The Office of Healthcare Inspections (OHI) was created to monitor the health care provided to the veterans.

To carry out its inspections responsibilities, the Office of Healthcare Inspections is legally authorized to gain access to all records, reports, audits, reviews, documents, papers, recommendations, or other pertinent materials.

In performing its assigned functions, OHI inspects individual health care issues, performs quality program assistance reviews of medical center operations, evaluates Nationwide health care programs, and provides clinical consultations that are designed to strengthen Veteran's Health Administration's (VHA's) health care, and other missions, in order to help VHA to enhance patient care programs and to prevent and deter fraud, waste, and abuse. The OHI's oversight efforts emphasize National mandates for creating a more efficient, less costly government. Inherent in every OHI effort will be the principles of continuous quality improvement, focus on helping the Department to strengthen day-to-day operations, and emphasis on caring customer service and continually-improved patient outcomes.

The OHI will facilitate the IG's ability to keep the Secretary and the Congress fully and currently informed about problems relating to VA healthcare programs and the need for corrective action. In doing so, the OHI staff will strive to lead and be innovators in the performance of their duties, being consistently fair, honest, and objective, and fulfilling their responsibilities with integrity.