Delos M. (Toby) Cosgrove MD, Vice Chair for the Commission on Care and CEO of the Cleveland Clinic http://my.clevelandclinic.org speaking to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs about the Commission on Care’s final report as it relates to the VA’s www.va.gov use of technology within the EHR system.
As he explained, “Years ago, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) www.va.gov/health was a leader in the field of EHRs but unfortunately, this is no longer the case. The Commission now believes that the VHA should transition to the same type of commercial off-the-shelf EHRs as other providers.
By using a proven product, many of the scheduling and billing problems would be resolved. These systems could help the VA identify areas for opportunity to provide better access to care for veterans and at the same time, promote interoperability which is critical as veterans frequently move to different care sites.
The commercial EHR would also allow VHA to link financial and clinical information which is a critical functionality needed to run modern healthcare delivery systems. The commercial EHR programs enable staff and patients to schedule patient care easily and to provide legitimate performance measures for wait times, unit costs, clinical care outcomes, and productivity.
As Dr. Cosgrove noted, “Many of the country’s best hospital systems have converted homegrown information systems to commercially-based systems. As a result, the VHA must do the same to remain current and be engaged with the rest of the healthcare system.
The Commission also proposes that Congress provide for a VHA governance board to provide a long term strategic vision to successfully drive the transformation process. A system as large and complex as VHA’s will require streamlining multiple systems.
Go to https://commissioncare.sites.usa.gov to view the Commission’s report.