APRIL 1, 2009
VA Patient Scheduling Program On Verge Of Collapse
NextGov (4/1, Brewin) reports,
"An eight-year-old, $167 million project to develop a core computer
application to schedule patient appointments at hospitals run by the
Veterans Affairs Department has all but collapsed, and senior
executives are worried about the repercussions it could cause on the
Hill and in the White House, according to an internal memo obtained"
by NextGov. The "Replacement Scheduling Application Development
Program...'still has not developed a single scheduling capability it
can provide to the field, nor is there any expectation of delivery
in the near future,' wrote Dr. Michael Kussman, undersecretary for
health at the Veterans Health Administration, in a March 20 memo to
Stephen Warren, acting assistant secretary for information and
technology." The "patient scheduling project has 'floundered under
VHA's leadership since 1998,' Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., the ranking
member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said in a statement.
He added the current failure exemplifies the need for VA to develop
a professional cadre of contracting officers and program managers."
Other VA IT Projects Also Said To Be Experiencing Problems.
In his "What's Brewin'" blog for
NextGov (3/31), Bob Brewin
wrote, "I have a hunch that" a new patient appointment scheduling
application "is just one of potentially many VA IT projects in real
trouble. That hunch is based on the last page" of Kussman's memo to
Warren. Kussman "wrote: 'The number of programs we see and hear'"
about "being...delayed makes it evident that we need to be proactive
by conducting immediately an end-to-end status check of all our
development programs." After saying one "project that seems to need
immediate attention according to Kussman is a critter called the
Pharmacy Re-Engineering 0.5 Order Check Enhancement Project," Brewin
noted that in his memo, Kussman also told Warren the VA needs "a
clear communication plan for how we tell the story both inside and
outside" the agency. Brewin added, "That probably includes informing
VA Secretary Eric Shinseki of problems with the scheduling
application, which Kussman said, 'We need'" to "'do at once.' But
I'm told that as of Tuesday morning no notification had been made,
11 days after the memo was written."
Impact:
VA Information Technology
Murray Wants Better Access, Care For Women Vets
KING-TV Seattle, WA (3/31, 6:36 p.m. PT) broadcast that US Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) "is sponsoring legislation that would help women combat veterans." On Tuesday, Murray "held a press conference...in Washington, DC, with Iraq veterans. The women were part of a group known as Lioness soldiers, attached to all-male combat teams to help with Iraqi women and children during raids. They often suffer post-traumatic stress disorder and find getting care" at the Department of Veterans Affairs "is anything but easy." Shannon Morgan, described as a member of "Team Lioness," was shown saying that in addition to more women therapists, "We need equality because when men come home from war, they don't to have prove...that they were in combat, and we're being forced to do that." KING noted that Murray's "legislation would help provide better access and better care with VA services."In "The Liberal Life of a Navy Wife," a Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot (3/31) blog by a Navy veteran identified as Vivian, who is married to another Navy veteran, noted that among "other things, the legislation will" require the VA secretary "to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the barriers women are facing in accessing care at the VA."
Policy Excluding Women From Combat May Be Re-Evaluated. In a related story, the WTTG-TV Washington, DC (3/31, Henrehan) reported, "Congress may soon re-examine the Pentagon's current policy of excluding females from assignment to companies engaged in 'direct ground combat.'" On Tuesday, dozens "of Congressional staff members attended the viewing of a PBS-Independent Lens documentary called Lioness," which "recounts the stories of female American Army and Marine personnel assigned to the Lioness program in Iraq in 2003 and 2004." The "female soldiers and Marines wound up in the middle of 'active fire fights,'" according to Army Staff Sgt. Ranie Ruthig. WTTG added, "Since women are sometimes already effectively operating as combat troops," US Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD) "believes the military's exclusion policy, 'should be revisited [and] re-evaluated.'"
Impact: Local Congressional Staffs, Women Veterans