The United States is fixing a bloated bureaucratic government by injecting efficiency, accountability and innovation into every facet of it. In alignment with the administration’s vision for improved government processes, the Department of Veterans Affairs is removing barriers, cutting through red tape and tackling head-on challenges that seemed insurmountable. An example of one program that has to be more efficient is VA’s Federal Electronic Health Record.

The deployment of the EHR has suffered multiple delays for years. Technical challenges negatively affected VA Medical Centers and healthcare delivery. EHR design flaws soured the user experience and satisfaction among clinicians and staff. Outages, interruptions, latency, difficulties with medication management, and complications resolving these problems and others contributed to stop-and-go execution. 

Ultimately, deployment efforts became so troubled that the previous administration put the brakes on them for more than a year. It was intended to assess and resolve obstacles degrading the EHR’s performance and reliability.

In short, the project had to have a new direction.

Today, we have that new direction. We have new leadership. And we’re finally going to get it right. First, the EHR is the healthcare solution we owe veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors. Second, successful implementation is fundamental to preserving and enhancing VA’s healthcare. Every taxpayer should know this — the VA will not stop until it has achieved Secretary Doug Collins’ vision to provide veterans a modern, electronic health record.

When Collins arrived in February, he took steps to put the program on a course that would quickly yield the results veterans deserve and clinicians and staff expect. He directed leaders to develop a comprehensive strategic plan to accelerate EHR deployments across the VA medical centers, as soon as 2031. He told leaders to adopt a standard, baseline EHR to limit local customizations and facilitate accountability. He replaced the cumbersome, bureaucratic, multi-council decision-making model with a single governance council model already streamlining decisions in preparation for EHR deployments.

As a result, VA has accelerated its EHR deployment plans. The department is scheduled to bring the system to 13 VA healthcare facilities in 2026, nine more than planned. It’s an aggressive schedule, to be sure. It reflects confidence in VA’s new direction, which will produce tangible results, deliver value, and equip our clinicians with the tools they need to give veterans the best healthcare.

VA clinicians have made it clear they’re ready for it. Collins visited Michigan in April and met with the VA leaders in Battle Creek, Ann Arbor and Detroit. Talking with them, he found a collective and convincing excitement about moving forward with EHR deployment in their markets. We will support them and provide those leaders with what they need to get the job done. On that, the VA will not waver.

Its commitment to them and the veterans they serve is delivery of a functional, integrated EHR system nationwide so veterans continue to receive efficient, high-quality and safe healthcare.

That is what we’re giving veterans: a single, accessible electronic health record that captures their medical history from the moment they swear their oath and put on the uniform until they take their final rest.

With the federal EHR, veterans have all their health records in a single system, no matter which VA they are visiting. The clinical staff can access the patients’ critical health information and history anytime, anywhere. Their physicians can update charts from any facility, more easily pinpoint gaps in care, and make more informed decisions. 

They can better match veterans with the programs that are right for them. And because the EHR supports standardized, best-practice healthcare delivery, the VA can more consistently give veterans the high-quality, cutting-edge healthcare they have earned.

Empowered with the federal EHR, the VA can track metrics across facilities and clinical services at the strategic level in real-time. We will see opportunities for improvement more clearly, measure intervention effects more accurately, and leverage medical and technological advancements more quickly. In this age of sophisticated cyberattacks, we will do all this while protecting veterans’ health data more securely.

Today at the VA, veterans are the mission. With frequent upgrades, expanded offerings, better connectivity and continuous modernization, the federal EHR will serve them for decades.