Lawmakers ramp up scrutiny over VA’s IT challenges, including joint program with DOD

The Department of Veterans Affairs' management of key IT projects is under close scrutiny from federal lawmakers who are frustrated with what they see as rushed efforts to roll out potentially flawed software tools as well as a lack of governance for the VA's interoperability projects. The VA's slow progress to set up a joint program office with the Department of Defense to work out differences between their separate electronic health records implementations has prompted legislators to work on a draft bill to move these efforts along. During a House Subcommittee on Technology Modernization hearing Tuesday, subcommittee chairman Jim Banks (R-Ind.) said he was drafting a bill aimed at improving accountability for interoperability efforts between the DOD and the VA. The interagency program office, as is, “is not living up to Congress’ vision for a single point of accountability.” Banks said.