{"id":19849,"date":"2019-04-03T13:55:14","date_gmt":"2019-04-03T13:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/04\/03\/vas-it-leadership-problem-has-infected-modernization-efforts\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:51:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:51:46","slug":"vas-it-leadership-problem-has-infected-modernization-efforts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/it-networks\/2019\/04\/03\/vas-it-leadership-problem-has-infected-modernization-efforts\/","title":{"rendered":"VA\u2019s IT leadership problem has infected modernization efforts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Department of Veterans Affairs has consistently struggled with its information technology systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The budget for the agency\u2019s Office of Information Technology has surpassed $4 billion<\/a>, with close to 90 percent of that money spent on legacy systems, while projects to modernize those systems are often late, faulty and over-budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to experts who spoke at an April 2 House Veterans Affairs Committee Hearing, the VA\u2019s high turnover in its top technology position and a lack of policy about what that position is responsible for has hindered the agency\u2019s efforts to modernize its IT systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVA\u2019s track record of delivering failed or troubled IT systems is a large part of why we designated VA healthcare as a high-risk area<\/a> for the federal government in 2015. For example, VA pursued three efforts over nearly two decades to modernize VISTA, its health information system. These efforts experienced high costs, challenges to ensuring interoperability of health data and, ultimately, did not result in a modernized system,\u201d said Carol Harris, director for information technology acquisition management at the Government Accountability Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\t