Facility Leaders and Staff Have Concerns about VA’s New Electronic Health Record

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a management advisory memorandum to inform the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Under Secretary for Health of concerns facility leaders and staff expressed to OIG staff regarding VA’s new electronic health record (EHR) during Healthcare Facility Inspections. The OIG conducted Healthcare Facility Inspections of the VA Southern Oregon Healthcare System and the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center in Walla Walla, Washington, during the weeks of March 4 and June 3, 2024, respectively. VA deployed the new EHR at the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center and the VA Southern Oregon Healthcare System in March 2022 and June 2022, respectively.Leaders at the VA Southern Oregon Healthcare System described the implementation of the new EHR as “the single largest challenge that we have here,” noting that the new EHR has impacted “every system” and resulted in “rewriting the way VA does business.” The director at the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center described multiple challenges, including timing of deployment, which overlapped with dealing with the effects of the pandemic; limited training; and enterprise-wide communication deficiencies. Additionally, leaders and staff at both medical facilities described notable concerns related to (1) efficiency and loss of productivity, (2) staffing, (3) financial impacts, and (4) patient safety.Since 2020, the OIG has reported on various issues with the new EHR. Interviews of leaders and staff during Healthcare Facility Inspections of the VA Southern Oregon Healthcare System and the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center demonstrate that new and previously-identified issues persist in 2024.The OIG requested the Under Secretary for Health evaluate whether the issues cited in the memorandum warrant process reviews and/or contract enhancements to improve efficiency, user experiences, and patient safety.