It also has had to hold off on further deployments of its new EHR system after issues were uncovered at the first go-live site in Spokane, Washington. These included training failures, data migration problems and concerns over patient safety at the initial go-live site of Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane. A review also recommended a new governance and organization structure, a new cost estimate and deployment schedule.

A report in November by the VA Office of Inspector General found additional problems in the EHR’s scheduling platform. These included the inability to change appointment types; not being able to mail appointment letter reminders automatically; and not having oversight reports that were previously accessible to track and monitor patient wait times. Assessments made the VA’s Office of Electronic Health Record Modernization aware of these performance malfunctions, but they were not fully resolved before the system went live in Columbus. Even more issues arose after the system was installed there but were not resolved before it went live in Spokane.

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