Newhouse Demands Fixes After Scathing OIG Reports Prove EHRM System Harmed Central Washington Veterans
OIG outlines multiple cases of patient harm, Agency awareness
WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Inspector General released two final reports, titled: The New Electronic Health Record’s Unknown Queue Caused Multiple Events of Patient Harm and Senior Staff Gave Inaccurate Information to OIG Reviewers of Electronic Health Record Training. These two reports cite specific issues related to the rollout of the new Electronic Health Record system in Walla Walla and Spokane and the harm it caused to veterans in Central Washington.
“The details found in these reports are deeply disturbing. Our nation owes a debt to our veterans that we will never be able to repay. Providing them with high-quality medical care is the bare minimum,” said Rep. Newhouse. “These reports highlight that the VA, and this administration, intentionally ignored reports showing that their system was putting our veterans’ lives at risk. In some instances, the OIG reports cite specific instances where senior VA staff failed to fully implement training and evaluation programs for employees, inaccurately reported data, and failed to recognize and report multiple red flags. Today’s reports further prove that the EHRM system, and its implementation, are deeply flawed. I will continue to work with my colleagues on the House Veterans Affairs Committee to fix these issues and ensure that our veterans receive the care that they need and deserve.”
Background:
The first OIG report, The New Electronic Health Record’s Unknown Queue Caused Multiple Events of Patient Harm, concludes, “The new EHR’s unknown queue represented an element that ultimately led to thousands of orders for medical care not being delivered to the requested service, placed patients at risk for incomplete care, and caused multiple events of patient harm. Oracle Cerner failed to inform VA end-users of the existence of the unknown queue and put the burden on VA to identify and address the problem. While senior VA leaders were aware of the impact of the unknown queue, the current identification and ongoing remediation efforts continue to consume VHA staff resources. The OIG remains concerned that the mitigation process is an inadequate solution.” You can read the full report here.
The second OIG report, Senior Staff Gave Inaccurate Information to OIG Reviewers of Electronic Health Record Training, concludes, “Together these actions misrepresented the true state of Change Management’s plan to evaluate training, which its leaders later described as “in its infancy,” obfuscated potential issues with proficiency check data, and impeded the OIG staff’s efforts to properly assess in real time how OEHRM was evaluating the new EHR training to ensure patient care and safety risks were minimized while meeting user needs. It also interfered with OHI’s oversight of early training metrics, which was a critical task as the training results were to inform future user preparation across VHA for the EHR rollout.” You can read the full report here.
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