April 24, 2023

Wyden Statement on Reset of VA Electronic Health Records Management program

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden released the following statement on the recent announcement from the Department of Veterans Affairs that there will be a program reset to address system-wide problems with the Electronic Health Record Modernization program.  

“Too many veterans and health care workers in Oregon and nationwide have been dealing with unnecessary headaches because of the VA’s rollout of a deeply flawed Electronic Health Record program produced by Cerner Oracle. For rural clinics from Roseburg to White City to La Grande, the systemic issues and lack of tech support place an undue burden on healthcare staff to navigate and puts the health of some of our Oregon veterans at serious and needless risk.

This reset is a much-needed step so the VA can begin to restructure, enhance, and strengthen the entire records program with the proper accountability structures in place to ensure efficiency and privacy. And I have co-sponsored comprehensive legislation that would require VA to implement a series of reforms to the existing program to better serve veterans, medical personnel, and taxpayers.”