Facing ongoing and intense public scrutiny about its joint iEHR with the VA, more recent decisions to evaluate commercial options, and perceived absence from similar projects, such as Healtheway, OSEHRA and VLER, the top tech officials discuss challenges of balancing legacy systems with modernization.
Acting CIO Stephen Warren discussed the "tremendous value" that engaging the opens source community has for the VA, and what it plans to give back in the near future.
Experts driving next-gen healthcare in America will meet in the Nation's Capital next week. Here's a look at the technologies, policies and progress they'll be talking about.
The range of managed care policies states have adopted in Medicaid modernization plans spotlight a variety of options that will be available for other states expanding eligibility under the ACA, but sound IT is still a common concern.
Opting against the VA's VistA, the Defense Secretary explained that "commercial alternatives may offer reduced cost, reduced schedule and technical risk, and access to increased current capability and future growth in capability."
Along with scaling its digital claims processing system, the VA is trying to get more veterans to file fully developed claims -- putting more documentation responsibility on vets, but promising a faster response at the same time.
Despite the frustration and the jokes around iEHR, real data exchange is happening between the DoD and VA and the potential to build on that for the future resides in creatively using resources built in the past.
Healthcare associations and organizations said her career experience and progress as acting administrator of CMS make Marilyn Tavenner a strong leader to drive the policy changes in Obamacare.
Saying that the proposed legislation would address "the failure of DoD and VA to develop a single unified medical record," one of the bill's backers explains that it would require VA and DoD to prove they are implementing a plan for that single medical record.
Two veterans in South Carolina have filed a class action lawsuit against the VA stemming from a February breach, arguing that it would have been preventable with encryption.
As news of backlogs in veterans benefits continues to make headlines, lawmakers are pushing for answers on digital information exchange from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel -- who frankly described problems in the plans and cancelled an RFP, saying he'd have clarification plans soon.
A new prize series launched by a consortium of health and policy groups aims to bring the nation's most vexing healthcare problems to data scientists, with the solutions made broadly available.