SPOKANE, Wash. — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is reviewing its electronic health record system after Eastern Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers raised concerns about Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane.
McMorris Rodgers, who represents Washington's 5th Congressional District, wrote a letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough urging him to review the Cerner electronic health record (EHR) system. She wrote in part that her Spokane and Colville offices were receiving "an increasing number of complaints and pleas for help."
"They typically concern the same issues: prescriptions, the new patient portal, and training. I am getting reports of veterans not receiving their prescriptions when needed or receiving the wrong prescriptions," McMorris Rodgers wrote in the letter. "I have one report of a VA doctor ordering a veteran two medications, but he received 15 erroneous medications. I have multiple reports of prescriptions being delayed, which in one case caused a veteran to suffer withdrawal."
McMorris Rodgers called the impacts of these incidents "dangerous and unacceptable." She added that the problems "seemed to be caused by VA staff struggling with ordering medications in the system" and confusion among veterans and their families about the patient portal.
"Nurses who go to work every day to serve our veterans should not be driven to tears because software, which was intended to be an improvement, makes their jobs more difficult," McMorris Rodgers wrote.
The VA announced its intentions to adopt the Cerner EHR system-wide several years ago. Cerner is a publicly-traded company that sells health IT platforms, and has billions of dollars in contracts with the US government. Previously, VA centers used a custom-built system called VistA.
The federal government decided to adopt Cerner not only at the VA, but within the Department of Defense, so that medical information for both active duty members and veterans would be on the same system.
In the letter, McMorris Rodgers also requested answers to the following questions:
1. How does the VA assess the current staffing situation at Mann-Grandstaff in primary and specialty care, and what are your recruitment goals this year?
2. What is the productivity level now at Mann-Grandstaff compared to before the Cerner EHR was installed in October 2020?
3. What steps are being taken to protect staff morale and retention while the disruption from the EHR implementation is being addressed?
4. What training resources are currently available at Mann-Grandstaff from the VA and Cerner?
5. What infrastructure improvements are still ongoing at Mann-Grandstaff?
6. What plans are in place to ensure access to the ICU, psychiatric services, dental care, and to reach 24-hour urgent care capability?
The VA announced in a press release on Friday that it would perform a "strategic review" of the EHR modernization program after McDonough's initial assessment of the program.
The strategic review consists of a full assessment of the program to ensure continued success for all future deployments and will not exceed 12 weeks.
"After a rigorous review of our most-recent deployment at Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center, it is apparent that a strategic review is necessary. VA remains committed to the Cerner Millennium solution, and we must get this right for Veterans," McDonough said in a statement.
The strategic review will focus on identifying areas for additional productivity and clinical workflow optimization at Mann-Grandstaff and upcoming “go-live” sites, conducting further research into Veteran-centered improvements for the patient portal experience, data syndication and revenue cycle improvements, the VA wrote in its release.
“I am encouraged to see Secretary McDonough respond swiftly to my calls for review of the broken electronic health record system that has caused new stress on veterans and VA staff in Eastern Washington,” McMorris Rodgers said in response on Friday. “This decision was the right one, and I’m hopeful we can work together towards our common goal of improving the lives of our veterans.”
