Veterans Health Administration (VHA)

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VA Poised To Kick-Off Contract For New Scheduling System

Dan Verton | Fedscoop | August 5, 2014

The Department of Veterans Affairs has completed a series of one-on-one meetings with companies interested in taking on what is perhaps the biggest, most complex and important government IT challenge since the rollout of healthcare.gov — replacing VA’s antiquated patient scheduling system with commercial technologies that will enable veterans to see doctors and receive treatment when and where Read More »

VA Post-iEHR Strategy Takes Shape As VistA Evolution

David Perera | FierceGovernmentIT | January 29, 2014

The Veterans Affairs Department's immediate post-iEHR strategy for modernizing its electronic health record is taking shape under the banner of "VistA Evolution," with the Veterans Health Administration releasing Jan. 27 a solicitation for support services in its office of Health Systems Informatics. Read More »

VA Prepares To Move Forward With Chiropractic Residency Program

Press Release | American Chiropractic Association (ACA) | July 25, 2013

Media Contacts:
Caitlin Lukacs: (703) 812-0218 | [email protected]
Melissa Lee: (703) 812-0259 | [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 25, 2013

VA Prepares to Move Forward with Chiropractic Residency Program Read More »

VA Purchases an Additional 20 ReWalk Exoskeleton Systems for First Ever Multi-Center Exoskeleton Clinical Trials

Press Release | ReWalk Robotics Ltd. | May 5, 2016

ReWalk Robotics Ltd...announced that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ("VA") has purchased an additional 20 ReWalk Personal Systems to support initiation of their national multi-center clinical trial. The VA clinical trial is the first-ever U.S. study to examine the impact of exoskeleton use in the home or daily life setting. The study will include 160 participants across the country, with six VA medical centers participating in the first phase across California, Florida, Massachusetts, Texas and Virginia...

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VA Refines Scheduling Contract Timing, Sees Progress On Broad Tech Front

Dan Verton | FedScoop | September 30, 2014

Stephen Warren, the chief information officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs, said Tuesday a final contract award for a new commercial scheduling system will likely happen in January and not by the end of 2014 as originally planned because of “an extensive amount of industry feedback” received on the system’s performance work statement...

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VA Says Claims Backlog Down 36 Percent Since March

Diana Manos | Government Health IT | December 18, 2013

Department of Veterans Affairs’ Under Secretary for Benefits Allison Hickey says the Veterans Benefits Administration is putting a big dent in the backlog of Veterans’ disability compensation and pension claims. In fact, the VBA has cut the backlog by 36 percent since last March, she told a recent hearing of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Read More »

VA Says It Deferred 2012 Bonuses For Some Health Execs

Bob Brewin | Nextgov | May 8, 2013

Veterans Affairs Department spokesman Josh Taylor defended VA’s system of paying executive bonuses, telling Nextgov the payments are necessary to “attract and retain the best and brightest leaders.” Read More »

VA Schedulers Failed To Fully Use Wait List Software Created in 2002

Bob Brewin | Nextgov.com | June 10, 2014

More than 70 percent of 3,772 patient-scheduling staffers at 731 medical facilities in the Veterans Health Administration did not fully use scheduling software originally developed in 2002, according to a Department of Veterans Affairs report highlighting lengthy wait times for veterans seeking health care appointments...

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VA Selects Bitscopic's Praedico for Public Health Surveillance

Press Release | Bitscopic | March 20, 2015

Bitscopic Inc., a leading provider of health analytics tools, announced today that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has selected its Praedico platform to detect and monitor infectious disease outbreaks across the country. In addition, the VA is going to pilot Bitscopic's advanced analytics software for the early detection and management of hospital acquired infections (HAI) and other clinical informatics applications. Bitscopic's Praedico scans data from electronic health records (EHRs), laboratories, pharmacies, and other sources in seconds. It has been used to analyze infectious disease data including influenza, dengue, Hepatitis C (HCV), etc. Praedico is a modular, highly configurable, and customizable platform. It can detect and monitor large-scale events such as antibiotic resistance trends and potential major disease outbreaks. In addition, it monitors more localized events and tools, such as patient monitoring devices, and surgical site infections. Read More »

VA Selects Jive To Support Strategic Federal Initiative To Improve Veteran Health Care

Press Release | Jive Software | November 10, 2014

Jive Software, Inc today announced that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has selected Jive to support its employees in achieving the agency's top strategic priority: providing personalized, proactive, patient-driven care to 22 million veterans and their families.

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VA Sponsors Contest to Find Best Possible Scheduling Software

Stephen Spotswood | US Medicine | March 1, 2013

VA is currently seeking assistance in finding ways to better allocate this resource in the form of modernized scheduling software and in October launched the VA Medical Appointment Scheduling Contest (vascheduling.challenge.go). It is a competition soliciting private industry to encourage the creation of updated, open-source software that would accommodate the rapidly evolving needs of the department. Read More »

VA Tackles Medical Device Vulnerabilities and Cyberthreats

VA recently signed partnerships with Massachusetts General Hospital and Shepherd University. This collaboration's research will address cybersecurity and compatibility measures needed in devices used for VA patient care. It will also refine existing and emerging cybersecurity standards and practices for network connectable medical devices, medical data systems and other related technology. Beyond VA, the agreements could have a broad impact in standardizing cybersecurity and safety requirements within the larger public health sector. VA is contributing to industry-wide awareness of both medical device vulnerabilities and threats, while applying further tests of the Underwriters Laboratories criteria and other emerging standards.

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VA Taps IBM Watson to Help Accelerate and Enhance Care Delivery

Press Release | Veterans Health Administration, IBM | December 16, 2014

IBM today announced that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is using Watson technology in a pilot to assist physicians in helping accelerate the process of evidence-based medical decision making. The VA joins leading healthcare organizations that are working with IBM Watson to help improve efficiency and quality of care being delivered. As part of the multi-year contract, the VHA will also work with Watson for a clinical focus supporting veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Read More »

VA Telehealth Lauded As Model Healthcare Program

Ken Terry | Information Week | January 24, 2012

The United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS), which plans to roll out a telemonitoring service for 3 million patients, could learn a lot from the U.S. Veterans Health Administration (VHA) home telehealth program, according to a new report from U.K. research firm 2020health.org. From an American perspective, the report raises the question of why telehealth hasn't gained more traction in this country, considering the VHA's success with it.

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VA's $400K History Book Sidetracked By Crisis

Dennis Wagner | AZ Central | January 19, 2015

When the media, investigators and Congress exposed the Department of Veterans Affairs' broken and dishonest health-care system last year, VA officials were forced to postpone publication of a $400,000-plus history book that glowingly portrays the agency's achievements...

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