July 27, 2022

Chairman Takano: “I will not sit idly by and allow this program to endanger veterans.”

“It is my intention for our Committee to work with the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary to hold program officials accountable and demand fixes before deploying to any more medical centers.”

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Miguel R. Salazar (202) 779-1486

WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (HVAC) Chairman Mark Takano (D-Calif.) spoke today at the Subcommittee on Technology Modernization’s hearing on Protecting our Veterans: Patient Safety and Electronic Health Record Modernization Program.   
chairman takano speakingView Chairman Takano's remarks here.
Chairman Takano’s remarks as prepared:  Thank you, Chairman Mrvan, for holding this very important hearing.  Today, the Subcommittee will examine how VA’s mismanagement of an IT program has endangered the lives of veterans. Upgrading EHRs, using the Cerner system no less, is something that hospitals in the private sector do all the time. I can only surmise that from inception that the program management structure overseeing this deployment is completely wrong for VA.  The Office of Electronic Health Record Modernization has been a failure.  Between the previous leadership in charge of that office to the current leadership, I don’t have any confidence that our Committee, or the Secretary, has or is being given an honest and accurate picture of how things are going.  VA needs a modernized EHR. Continuing with VistA is not sustainable long term.  Despite this, and I want to be absolutely clear — I will not sit idly by and allow this program to endanger veterans.   Based upon the results of this Inspector General investigation and countless messages of concern from frontline staff at VA, it is my intention for our Committee to work with the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary to hold program officials accountable and demand fixes before deploying to any more medical centers. This will require holding not only Oracle-Cerner accountable, but also the leaders of the program offices and the contracting office that have been overseeing this contract since award.I don’t need to re-hash this, but we know that a sole-source contract for $10 billion dollars by the Trump administration raised eyebrows. I know that VA has already spent billions on a program management office contract that obviously is not meeting the Department’s needs—including, most importantly, the needs of VA’s clinicians and the veterans they treat.   VA needs to hold both its contractors and its contract management staff accountable.   The status quo of program management and acquisition at VA is not only wasting billions of dollars but endangering the lives of veterans.  VA needs to address the valid concerns that have been repeatedly raised by front-line staff, the OIG, and Congress. I sincerely hope that our VA witnesses are here to answer these very serious allegations honestly, and take accountability for the mistakes made. Mr. Chairman, I yield back.  
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