(The Center Square) – Eastern Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers is worried that recent technical upgrades stemming from recent technical difficulties at the VA Hospitals will lead to budget and staffing woes for veterans in Spokane and Walla Walla.
To prevent that, she’s taking her concerns straight to the head of the VA, Secretary Denis McDonough.
The VA’s Oracle Cerner Electronic Health Record Modernization program, or EHRM, is a much beleaguered upgrade to the VA’s record keeping system. The goal of the EHRM program is to get all VA hospitals operating on the same electronic recordkeeping format.
The outcome of the $10 billion dollar contract has been delays and implementation issues. Issues that have caused McMorris Rodgers to repeatedly speak out in favor of pausing rollouts for the new recordkeeping system.
Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers’ letter to the secretary followed a report from Spokane’s Mann-Grandstaff Medical Director, Dr. Robert J. Fischer, which informed his supervisors that the facility “is facing a persistent and significant budget deficit in excess of $35 million as a result of the [EHRM] program.”