Aisha Chowdhry

See the following -

Obama Backs 15 of 18 VA Commission Recommendations

Aisha Chowdhry | FCW | September 6, 2016

President Barack Obama is backing 15 of the 18 recommendations made by the Commission on Care to improve service delivery at the Department of Veterans Affairs. However, he is resisting a bid to revise the way the VA's health care system is run. The recommendations are included in the commission's final report...

Read More »

On Capitol Hill, Concerns Remain About DOD-VA Interoperability

Aisha Chowdhry | FCW | July 13, 2016

Senate appropriators grilled top Veterans Affairs officials about whether the military and VA electronic health records systems are cooperating. VA CIO LaVerne Council, VistA Evolution Program Executive David Waltman and Veterans Health Administration Deputy Chief Medical Information Officer For Strategy and Design Jonathan Nebeker testified at a July 13 hearing before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies. DOD's director of the DoD/VA Interagency Program Office, Lauren Thompson, and Government Accountability Office Director for Information Management and Technology Resources Issues Valerie Melvin were also at the witness table...

Read More »

VA and VistA: Can They Be Fixed?

Aisha Chowdry | FCW | July 27, 2016

The Department of Veterans Affairs is rushing to make changes to its IT infrastructure and systems before the next administration enters the White House. And skeptical lawmakers, oversight bodies and outside experts are cautiously optimistic about the eventual outcomes. The key words, though, are "cautiously" and "eventual"...

Read More »

VA and VistA: Can they be fixed?

Aisha Chowdhry | FCW | July 27, 2016

pivoting away from VistA, the agency's homegrown electronic health record system, would be a major shift for the VA. Former VA CIO Roger Baker said VistA is the only EHR designed by doctors, not technologists. "That is the real power of VistA, and it remains the real power of VistA," he added. The system, rooted in 1970s code, is designed to assist doctors in their daily work. Providers at the various VA medical facilities nationwide customize it for their specific needs.

Read More »