Veterans Affairs

VA secretary: Automation will help agency ‘make better, faster, more informed decisions’

VA Secretary Denis McDonough said the department is poised “to deliver a completely new, fully integrated experience” for veterans as officials expect a further increase in PACT Act claims.

  • By Edward Graham

VA official expects Oracle Cerner to deliver on $10B EHR contract despite layoffs

While lawmakers and officials expect work to continue as planned, an insider warned that layoffs at Oracle Cerner targeted a clinical team that worked to implement new electronic health record systems.

  • By Edward Graham

VA to lean on automation, better IT to tackle wave of benefits claims

The component responsible for overseeing veterans’ benefits programs at the Department of Veterans Affairs believes that automation and modernized IT systems will enhance its processing of PACT Act-related claims.

  • By Edward Graham

VA CIO warns against sacrificing 'consistency' for more contractor diversification 

VA is engaging more with smaller vendors to fulfill some of its projects, but the department’s CIO warned that calls for the agency to break large contracts into smaller pieces would not ensure that “there's consistency across the key places.”

  • By Edward Graham

As disability claims mount, VA needs to ramp up automation, lawmakers say

The Department of Veterans Affairs needs to rely on more advanced automation tools in its processing of veterans’ benefits to meet an expected “tidal wave” of PACT Act-related claims.

  • By Edward Graham

VA puts Oracle Cerner on a short leash in $10B health records contract

The agency extended the contract for its EHR provider by one year, and put performance conditions in place.

  • By Adam Mazmanian

VA delays rollout of new electronic health record system again

The Department of Veterans Affairs, which announced last October it was pausing rollouts of its new EHR system until June 2023, said it “is not yet ready” to move forward with the software’s scheduled deployment at the VA Saginaw Healthcare System.

  • By Edward Graham

Veterans Affairs committee Dems offer bills to streamline VA operations

The two proposals would seek to consolidate business functions at the agency and independently verify and validate IT modernization efforts.

  • By Carten Cordell

House Dem pushes back on bill to cancel VA's $20B-plus software refresh

Rep. Mark Takano, now ranking member on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, doesn't want to cancel the Electronic Health Records Modernization program without a ready alternative – and VistA doesn't count.

  • By Adam Mazmanian

House lawmakers want VA's $20 billion-plus electronic health record program to improve or else

Senior Republicans on the House Veterans Affairs Committee are backing legislation to end the troubled program to replace the Department of Veterans Affairs' homegrown electronic health record system with commercial software from Oracle-Cerner -- unless the program can hit performance targets and satisfy top hospital officials.

  • By Carten Cordell

VA cancels future deployments of new supply chain management system

The agency’s decision to transition away from using the Defense Department’s supply chain logistics solution comes after lawmakers and the VA’s Office of Inspector General questioned the system’s value.

  • By Edward Graham

VA adds 6 months to health record deployment pause

The delay is designed to give the Department of Veterans Affairs and Cerner Oracle more time to iron out serious performance issues in the multibillion dollar software upgrade.

  • By Adam Mazmanian

VA official has 'deep concerns' about agency's electronic health record project

But leadership at the agency pushed back against projected cost overruns and delays moving forward.

  • By Edward Graham

How the VA’s adoption of Login.gov is going

The agency is standing up in-person identity proofing to help veterans who struggle to go through the identity proofing process online because of a lack of connectivity or existing digital credentials.

  • By Natalie Alms
Featured eBooks

VA systems vulnerable to cyber intrusions due to lack of effective oversight, report says

The Department of Veterans Affairs Inspector General's office said the agency is "leaving its systems vulnerable to compromise by impostors who may gain access to protected information."

  • By Chris Riotta

VA names functional champion to help streamline embattled EHR rollout

The selection of Dr. David Massaro to the senior role fills out the leadership team of the VA office tasked with “processing and resolving patient care concerns” related to the agency's new electronic health record system

  • By Edward Graham

Top Republican to 'seriously consider pulling the plug' on VA's new EHR system

The ranking member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee plans to introduce legislation before the end of the year to address deficiencies in the rollout of the new Oracle-Cerner electronic health record system.

  • By Edward Graham

VA delays go-live of new health record software at Boise medical center

A new third-party cost estimate of the Veterans Affairs health record rollout prepared for Congress suggests that the total cost of the program could exceed $50 billion.

  • By Adam Mazmanian

Routing gap in VA health software led to patient harm, watchdog says

An oversight report claims a confusing routing process in the new electronic health record system being fielded by the Department of Veterans Affairs contributed to nearly 150 adverse patient events.

  • By Adam Mazmanian

VA electronic health record system ‘not yet stable enough’ for planned rollouts

The Boise Veterans Affairs Medical Center now plans to deploy the Cerner Millennium system a month later than originally planned, with the year’s remaining rollouts pushed to 2023.

  • By Aaron Boyd

Lawmakers grill VA tech officials over stalled progress on cybersecurity

Top cyber officials with the Department of Veterans Affairs told Congress they are opposed to a bipartisan bill seeking to strengthen the agency’s cybersecurity standards—despite its ongoing failures to meet oversight recommendations.

  • By Chris Riotta