VA Announces Strategic Review of Electronic Health Record Modernization Program Following Push from Tester, Moran

Following a push from Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced that it has initiated a strategic review of the electronic health record modernization (EHRM) program.

“For months, I’ve been pressing VA to change its course on the electronic health record project and actually address the challenges at hand,” said Chairman Tester. “While the previous Administration ignored these requests, I’m glad Secretary McDonough is taking them seriously and working to ensure this project delivers quality health care to all veterans and protects taxpayer dollars.”

“I appreciate Secretary McDonough’s initiative to assess the electronic health records modernization program within his first month in office and look forward to the results of the review,” said Ranking Member Moran. “Modernizing the health record system will help provide veterans with a seamless transition of care from their active military service to an enrollee within the VA enterprise.”

According to VA, the strategic review consists of a full assessment of the ongoing electronic health record modernization program to ensure continued success for all future EHR deployments, and will not exceed 12 weeks.

This announcement follows the Senators’ recent bipartisan and bicameral letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough, where they raised the alarm over the program’s performance and impact on productivity, operations, data syndication, revenue cycle, veteran experience, and other issues as reported by senior Veterans Health Administration officials as well as rank-and-file employees.