VA’s Office of Information and Technology (OIT) released its 2017 Year in Review to celebrate the tremendous progress OIT has made in the past year toward creating a modern VA and an enhanced Veteran experience.

The year in review details OIT’s pivotal shift from its transformation efforts of 2016 into a new era of modernization aimed at streamlining VA services and improving the Veteran experience.

“I know modernizing an agency of our size and geographic breadth is no easy task,” said VA Secretary Dr. David Shulkin. “But it is not a task that is out of our reach. If we set bold goals and miss, we’ll make much more progress than we would by setting smaller goals and exceeding them.”

The year in review includes information on IT initiatives, such as VA’s new White House hotline and REACH VET — initiatives designed to field requests for information and eliminate Veteran suicide through early engagement of at-risk individuals; and Lighthouse, a new tool that will enable Veterans to manage their own health experience holistically on a secure, streamlined and interoperable platform.

Other modernization efforts detailed in the report such as VA’s cybersecurity overhaul, and improvement of the electronic health record, offer a glimpse into the future of Veteran health care and benefits delivery.

The accomplishments detailed in OIT’s 2017 Year in Review represent a departure from methods used in the past and signal a bright, innovative future for the standard of care for our nation’s Veterans.

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9 Comments

  1. EDWARD FIELD SMITH March 23, 2018 at 11:14

    IS THE VA A UNIVERSIAL FEDERAL AGENCY? WHY ARE ALL VA HOSPITALS AND SERVICES DIFFERENT IN EVERY STATE, I RECEIVED A LOT HELP IN BOSTON, MA. BUT HERE IN DURHAM NC. I AM TOLD WE DON’T HAVE THOSE SERVICES, WHY? I AM 100% DISABLED USMC VIET NAM VET DISCHARGED IN JAN/72. IN BOSTON I RECEIVED HOME CARE, HELP 3 DAYS A WEEK FOR 2 HOURS EACH DAY, DURHAM NC DOES NOT HAVE THIS SORT OF HELP, IN BOSTON YOU GO TO A DAYCARE FACILITY AND AFTER 3:30 IT’S TURNS INTO A EMERGENCY DEPT. AT THE BOSTON FACILITY THE DOCTORS WERE ABLE TO SEND YOU TO WHATEVER SERVICE OR DOCTOR YOU NEEDED TO SEE, HERE IN DURHAM NC THE ER DOCTORS ONLY TREAT YOU FOR ONE COMPLAINT ONLY AND THEN SEND YOU TO YOUR PRIMARY TO MAKE A CONSULT, EXAMPLE, I HAD WENT TO A LOCAL HOSPITAL AND WAS TOLD I HAVE 3 KIDNEY STONES, THEY SET ME UP FOR THE FOLLOWING MONDAY WITH A DOCTOR TO REMOVE THE KIDNEY STONES, SO I THEN WENT TO THE VA TO SEE IF THEY COULD TAKE CARE OF MY PROBLEM AND I WAS TOLD I HAD KIDNEY STONES BUT HAVE TO GET A CONSULTE, I WENT TO THE LOCAL HOSP APPT AND HAD MY KIDNEY STONES REMOVED AT MY COST, 3 MONTHS LATER I GOT A CALL ASKING IF I STILL NEED THE CONSULT FOR MY KIDNEY STONES, I TOLD THEM NOT THAT I HAD THEM REMOVED 3 MONTHS AGO? THINGS ARE NOT ANY BETTER, EVERYTHING HAS TO GO THRU YOU PRIMARY AT DURHAM NC. THE ER DOCTORS HANDS ARE TIED THEY PUT IN A CONSULT BUT IT TAKES FOREVER TO GET AN APPT FOR WHATEVER YOU NEED DONE. WHEN YOU SEE YOUR PRIMARY YOU HVE TO ASK FOR THE SERVICE YOU NEED LIKE A PHYSICAL OR WHATEVER, PLUS YOU GET ONLY ONE TREATMENT LOOKED AT IT IS ALL ALARCAT? JUST GREAT?

  2. Jim parrish February 26, 2018 at 13:28

    Believe it when I experience it!,

  3. Herm Swanson. VA 5595 February 24, 2018 at 11:10

    An Atomic Marine (Hood 1957). Never contacted by anyone ever. Medical conditions denied. 2018 Still fighting VA for results.

    Not just me but my 2 Marines sons are suffering illness that WERE NEVER IN MY FAMILY BEFORE THE BOMB (neither are mine.).

    Why not get to the gritty and solve real problems for Veterans?.

  4. Alan Swanson February 23, 2018 at 21:23

    I. Recently contacted VA Battle Creek to make an appointment in Grand Rapids for hearing aids and was presently surprised that I got a return call the next day to set an appointment. The office in Grand Rapids was wonderful and did more that I could have asked for. I think the VA has come a long way in improvements and give them a thank you.

  5. Robbie Baker February 23, 2018 at 13:34

    I am a widow waiting for a response on my husbands pension.

  6. Charles Pantino February 23, 2018 at 10:19

    It’s about time.

  7. David Nahm February 23, 2018 at 10:10

    The hot line is great! I have used it twice and it was amazing how red tape was cut and inefficient protocols melted away. Thank you Mr. President.

  8. Jim Redmon February 23, 2018 at 10:09

    Is this all not lovely? I recently spent an entire day trying to get the VA to prescribe a heart medication and as usual to no avail. My progress with mental health professional was making great progress, then I learned the Ph.D. had left employment. No ONE called or sent a letter for continued help. I didn’t trust the va earlier and now I despise the va.

    • K R Weidner February 23, 2018 at 18:21

      wish I could say I have never had such an experience, but I have! The VA is so big that it looks like it is beyond anyone’s
      ability to fix anything much for very long. The idea was a wonderful one but along the line it became too big for anyone to manage very well, now it kills as many vets as it helps. What a sad out come to a great idea.

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