“The VA’s accomplishments in meeting MISSION Act goals ‘was probably the biggest thing on the radar,’ said Department of Veterans Affairs CIO James Gfrerer reflecting on the VA Office of Information Technology’s top accomplishments over the past year.”
“Almost a year after taking on the role of CIO, Gfrerer reflected on top accomplishments the agency has seen throughout 2019 during a panel at the FedHealthIT 100 event in Washington, D.C. Most of those accomplishments centered on the digital experience…”
“Although VA has made strides in its IT initiatives over the past year, Gfrerer’s insights for the agency’s 2020 goals indicate there’s still much work ahead for him and his office.”
“Many of the 2020 initiatives at VA are continuations from 2019. One of these is to continue strengthening VA’s IT workforce and working with the Federal CIO Council in doing so, as well as continuing to support the growth of services like telehealth, telehearings and the Million Veteran Program…”
“Other initiatives on the 2020 agenda include the goal of improving acquisition and vendor management.”
“'[We] have about a billion dollars of tap tech spending each year, and I can tell you that we’re doing everything we can to be a better partner with the commercial sector because we need you — especially with our buy-versus-build strategy,’ he said.”
“One other big initiative for 2020, Gfrerer said, is to meet the VA call for the expansion for the agency’s caregiver program, which is one of the components required in the MISSION Act. This is amid the work Gfrerer’s office has done this year in re-platforming the caregiver program to a commercial-off-the-shelf solution this year with Agile and human-centered design aspects to it…” Read the full article here.
Source: From 2019 to 2020: What the New Year Will Bring in VA IT – By Melissa Harris, December 4, 2019. GovernmentCIO.
