“The Department of Veterans Affairs is using data sharing and telework to move forward with electronic health record modernization despite the limitations imposed by the ongoing pandemic.”
“In discussing continuity of operations during the COVID-19 response, VA Special Advisor Alan Constantian emphasized the sheer volume of employees who had to be rapidly transitioned to full-time remote work.”
“’The biggest impacts that we’ve had have been challenging the infrastructure to rise to the occasion both in terms of telehealth visits, but also in terms of many employees being online,’ he said during GovernmentCIO Media & Research’s virtual event on data sharing…”
“The agency’s wholesale transition to the Cerner electronic health records system from the prior Vista platform necessitated a considerable dedication of employee hours and IT resources, standing as one of the agency’s most substantial modernization projects. VA sustained multiple foundational aspects of the Cerner implementation through remote work.”
“’From a work perspective — if you can imagine any work that can be done remotely, that work is continuing,’ said VA Executive Director of the Office of Technical Integration Paul Tibbits. ‘Software development, cybersecurity, documentation, authority to operate, authority to connect, et cetera, is all continuing unabated. There’s been minimal COVID impact on that kind of interface work.’”
“However, Tibbits recognized that certain areas of the Cerner implementation have necessarily been put on hold — particularly those requiring on-site work and manual input…” Read the full article here.
Source: VA Continuing Health Records Modernization Amid COVID19 – By Adam Patterson, June 5, 2020. GovernmentCIO.
