Inspector General States VA Does not have a Handle On IT Investments and Policies

I didn’t realize until I read this that the VA was considering replacing their Vista EMR with commercial software, so I guess an anticipated expenditure of a large amount would draw attention anywhere. I just posted about the Department of Energy not meeting their goals with software not being used that took a lot of money to develop, so sounds like the VA is the same boat as a lot of departments. How’s the Inspector General doing with their IT I wonder?

President Obama is set to fire another inspector general Gerald Walpin, who investigated AmeriCorps and other national service programs and non profits. BD

The Office of Inspector General within the Veterans Administration is voicing concern that the VA is not effectively managing its information technology capital investments.
The OIG conducted an audit after the VA failed to meet a deadline to submit documentation to justify funds for I.T. capital investments for budget year 2010. The documentation is called Exhibit 300s.
In a new report, OIG concludes that the VA's Office of Information & Technology "did not have effective policies, procedures and management controls in place to ensure that the VA managed its I.T. capital investments effectively, efficiently and in accordance with applicable criteria."
Further, the I.T. office has not implemented controls to ensure it does not miss future Exhibit 300 submission deadlines, according to the report.

The concerns of the VA's Office of Inspector General are timely as the VA strongly considers replacing its core VistA patient care information system with commercially available software.

Report: VA Lacks I.T. Controls

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