Following the most recent delays of the Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program through Department of Veterans Affairs, President Biden has signed a bill into law that will increase EHRM program transparency.
US Senator Jerry Moran said, “The VA, and consequently our nation, has invested a great deal of time and money into the VA Electronic Health Record Modernization program. The potential benefits of this program are important, and it is vital to get it right. Now that this legislation has been signed into law, we can make certain the VA is providing the proper transparency throughout the EHRM implementation.”
The VA Electronic Health Record Transparency Act of 2021, which was introduced in 2021 but passed in 2022, will require the VA to submit periodic reports to Congress regarding the costs, performance metrics, and outcomes for EHRM. “This will better allow the committee to conduct oversight during the deployment process to ensure veterans receive the care they deserve and hold the VA accountable for taxpayer dollars,” said Senator Moran.
What does this mean?
On a quarterly basis, the VA must report the costs of its EHRM program to congressional committees within 90 days following the newly enacted law. Additionally, these requirements will continue until 90 days after the EHRM project has been fully implemented.
This comes after the VA decided to postpone several EHR implementations in response to a draft OIG report finding that the flaws in the Cerner EHR system harmed 148 veterans since its implementation in October 2020. And in 2021, reports from OIG stated the VA underestimated the total by billions due to poor reporting practices. According to the 2021 OIG audit, the VA did not report $2.5 billion in other critical IT infrastructure upgrade costs to Congress.
“The potential benefits of this program are important, and it is vital to get it right.” Moran said.
About the Author: Taylor Genter
Taylor is a Marketing Manager at Extract with experience in data analytics, graphic design, and both digital and social media marketing. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing at the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater. Taylor enjoys analyzing people’s behaviors and attitudes to find out what motivates them, and then curating better ways to communicate with them.