“Why GAO Did This Study
The use of IT is crucial to helping VA effectively serve the nation’s veterans. Each year the department spends billions of dollars on its information systems and assets. However, VA has experienced challenges in managing its IT programs, raising questions about its ability to deliver intended outcomes needed to help advance the department’s mission. To improve federal agencies’ IT acquisitions, in December 2014 Congress enacted FITARA. GAO has previously reported on IT management challenges at VA, as well as its progress in implementing FITARA and cybersecurity requirements…”
“What GAO Found
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has made limited progress toward addressing information technology (IT) system modernization challenges.
From 2001 through 2018, VA pursued three efforts to modernize its health information system—the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA). However, these efforts experienced high costs, challenges to ensuring interoperability of health data, and ultimately did not result in a modernized VistA. Regarding the department’s fourth and most recent effort, the Electronic Health Record Modernization, GAO recently reported that the governance plan for this program was not yet defined. VA has not fully implemented GAO’s recommendation calling for the department to define the role of a key office in the governance plans.
The Family Caregiver Program, which was established to support family caregivers of seriously injured post-9/11 veterans, has not been supported by an effective IT system. Specifically, GAO reported that, due to limitations with the system, the program office did not have ready access to the types of workload data that would allow it to routinely monitor workload problems created by the program. GAO recommended that VA expedite the process for identifying and implementing an IT system. Although the department concurred with the recommendation, VA has not yet fully addressed it…”
“What GAO Recommends
GAO has made numerous recent recommendations to VA aimed at improving the department’s IT management. VA has generally agreed with the recommendations and has taken steps to address them; however, the department has fully implemented less than half of them. Fully implementing all of GAO’s recommendations would help VA ensure that its IT effectively supports the department’s mission…” Read the full 29-page report here.
Source: Addressing IT Management Challenges Is Essential to Effectively Supporting the Department’s Mission – April 2, 2019. GAO.
