Federal agency and private-sector healthcare officials agreed this week that the sharp increase in delivery of telehealth services during the coronavirus pandemic has advanced state of the art in service delivery, along with the need to ramp up cybersecurity protections. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has launched a new electronic virtual assistant (e-VA) to help veterans connect with agency counselors and answer basic questions. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released new COVID-19 infection rate numbers today, indicating a decrease in virus spread because of the agency’s emphasis on digital screening and telehealth services. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has launched a new scheduling tool as a part of its electronic health record modernization (EHRM) efforts to streamline its appointment scheduling process for providers. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is seeking an in-depth cybersecurity audit of its Financial Services Center to analyze its compliance with Federal statutes, how the agency is adapting processes to support compliance, and cybersecurity sustainment across VA. […]
New data from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) shows a substantial increase in the use of online VA healthcare tools amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders. […]
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has experienced delays in converting facilities to its new electronic health record (EHR) capabilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but is now targeting October to implement the changes. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently reviewed usage health information exchanges (HIEs) at 48 VA facilities and community providers for possible barriers to their use. […]
On July 30, the Senate passed the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Information Technology Reform Act, which would improve VA management of IT projects and investments, among other things. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is implementing a national digital divide consult as a part of its efforts to ensure that veterans without broadband connectivity can access necessary telehealth services, an agency official confirmed at a July 29 Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Information and Technology and Loan Guaranty Service awarded a contract worth up to $328 million to Accenture to modernize the VA’s home loan program. […]
Technologists responsible for the website of the Department of Veterans Affairs and other government websites emphasized the need for accessibility, ensuring that no one is excluded from access. […]
The Departments of Veteran Affairs (VA), Health and Human Services (HHS), and Energy are partnering on a new initiative to share COVID-19 health data to enable the research and expertise on the virus. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced July 20 that CIO James Gfrerer swore in Todd Simpson as deputy assistant secretary for DevSecOps. […]
Per a July 16 inspector general (IG) report, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) saw use of VA Video Connect increase from 79 calls per week to over 1,100 per week at just one of its facilities during the coronavirus pandemic, despite some bandwidth and scheduling issues reported by facility leaders. […]
AI is transforming the way Federal agencies complete mission objectives, and as the technology becomes more effective and efficient, agency leaders are seeking to utilize AI to reshape the future of government work. […]
As part of the President’s Management Agenda (PMA), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is tacking to major IT priorities – improving the veteran experience with VA.gov and expanding telehealth services. As part of its July update, the Department reported on how the VA is progressing towards achieving its agency priority goals. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is seeking robotics process automation (RPA) to reduce its electronic health record (EHR) backlog, reduce manual tasks, and increase the traceability of VA’s program. […]
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies approved its Fiscal Year 2021 funding legislation for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) by voice vote today. The bill features a 12.4 percent increase in IT modernization funding for the agency. […]
Federal agencies’ total spend for COVID-19-related purchases has cooled in the past month, decreasing by over $1 billion due to changed contract awards, according to data obtained from the Federal Procurement Data System. […]
NSF’s CIO Dorothy Aronson said moving forward, lessons learned from the pandemic “can’t be unlearned.” “We probably will continue to be much more of a virtual organization in the future than we had been in the past,” she said. […]
As the COVID-19 pandemic made it increasingly difficult for veterans to access in-person healthcare services, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) quickly scaled its existing telehealth capabilities to accommodate more patients. Now, per several VA officials, the agency is planning to continue investments in and accessibility to its virtual health services even after the pandemic winds down. […]
Just over two months after the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, officials at the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) credit the legislation with expediating the acquisition process to ease the telework transition. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) – largely because of its broad, hands-on healthcare mission – is not the type of Federal agency that can transform to near 100 percent telework. But that didn’t stop the agency from more than tripling its telework capacity to meet the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic, said agency CIO James Gfrerer during a May 28 AFCEA Bethesda webinar event. […]
As the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) activates its “fourth mission” duties to provide lifesaving aid during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Chief Data Officer Kshemendra Paul said at a May 27 Federal Data Strategy Conference that scaling telemedicine has been a “huge success story” of the agency’s capabilities. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released a new chatbot this week to respond to frequently asked COVID-19 questions, including triaging symptoms, telehealth troubleshooting, and rescheduling appointments. […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Board of Veterans’ Appeals is making access to virtual hearings available to all veterans, according to a May 1 press release. […]
Federal agencies and departments have spent more than $8.7 billion on COVID-19 related contracts since February – spending more than a billion dollars in the past week. […]
The Office of Management and Budget’s recent memo encouraging Federal agencies to maximize telework across the nation, has proven to cause some challenges for government workers making the shift, according to Kathleen Glow-Morgan, national transformational coach captain at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has more than tripled the numbers of agency employees teleworking on a daily basis since February, an agency spokesperson told MeriTalk. […]