REPUBLICANS DAVID P. ROE, TENNESSEE, CHAIRMAN GUS M. BILIRAKIS, FLORIDA MIKE COFFMAN, COLORADO BILL FLORES, TEXAS Ili?. 3901152 of Representatives BRUCE POLIOUIN, MAINE EAL LO IDA I COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS CLAY HIGGINS, LOUISIANA BEHGMANI ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS JIM BANKS, INDIANA JENNIFFER GONZALEZ-COLON, PUERTO RICO BRIAN MAST. FLORIDA 335 CANNON HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON, DC 20515 JON TOWERS, STAFF DIRECTOR http'l/Veterans house August 24, 2018 The Honorable Robert Wilkie Secretary US. Department of Veterans Affairs 810 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20420 Dear Secretary Wilkie, DEMOCRATS TIM WALZ, MINNESOTA, RANKING MARK TAKANO, CALIFORNIA JULIA BROWNLEY, CALIFORNIA ANN KUSTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE BETO TEXAS KATHLEEN RICE, YORK J. LUIS CORREA, CALIFORNIA CONOR LAMB, ELIZABETH ESTY, CONNECTICUT SCOTT PETERS, CALIFORNIA RAY KELLEY DEMOCRATIC STAFF DIRECTOR I write with great concern about the deteriorating and rudderless leadership Of the Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program. The resignation of the Chief Health Information Of?cer, the program?s tOp leader, comes only three days after the resignation of the Chief Medical Of?cer. As a result, at most half Of the program?s senior leadership positions are occupied, and its rank?and-?le positions are only sparsely ?lled, primarily with detailees. This comes at a time when VA is making the most pivotal decisions as to the design of the Cerner EHR system to be implemented, as the pro gram?s previous leadership team declared that a ?go- live Clock? will begin on October 1, 2018 and culminate in the implementation Of the system at its ?rst site in March 2020. I know the EHR Modernization is one of your highest priorities. It is mine as well, as chairman Of the subcommittee dedicated to its oversight. It would be a tragedy for the program to be undermined by personality con?icts and bureaucratic power struggles before it even begins in earnest. In fact, despite several requests, I was not even able to meet with the EHRM leadership team before these departures. I am dedicated tO pursuing a constructive oversight agenda to encourage VA to make the right decisions, but any engagement is dif?cult without stable leadership. I urge you to identify a permanent Chief Health Information Of?cer immediately who possesses the requisite medical and technical knowledge and demonstrates managerial competency for such a large EHR transition. I also urge you tO select a Chief Medical Of?cer from within the Veterans Health Administration; it is crucial that this person commands the respect of the VHA workforce, as he or she must represent its views in the extremely sensitive task of redesigning clinical processes. Additionally, please provide a detailed organizational chart of the Of?ce of Electronic Health Record Modernization listing each federal position (executive, supervisory, or non-supervisory) and full-time contractor position and indicating the name Of each position?s incumbent or its vacant status by the Close Of business on Friday, September 7, 2018. Do not alter the documents in any way, including but not limited to application of redactions or a water mark, and do not provide them in a format that disables printing. The deliverable opened by this request will not be closed until the subcommittee is suf?ciently satis?ed with the response provided. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to have your staff contact Mr. William Mallison, Majority Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Technology Modernization at (202) 225-1900 or JIM BANKS Chairman Subcommittee on Technology Modernization Sincerely, B/wm