Opinion Pieces

If you only read the headlines, you'd think today's political climate is particularly divisive.

But as a member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I've seen firsthand the bipartisan work of this Congress, which has been the most productive in decades in securing victories for our nation's veterans.

Republicans and Democrats in the House have worked together to pass more than 70 bills addressing the needs of our veterans, 26 of which have been signed into law by President Donald Trump.

This legislation has included major reforms, such as bringing accountability to the Department of Veterans Affairs, increasing transparency in the timeliness and quality of care, and streamlining the broken appeals process for disability claims.

Although we've made progress, the work is far from over. As the VA begins a multibillion-dollar, 10-year effort to overhaul the VA's electronic health records system, Congress has a vital oversight role.

VA health care currently relies on an electronic health records system that was groundbreaking in the 1980s but is now increasingly starved of new capabilities.

Operations and maintenance costs are $1 billion a year and climbing, and its ability to communicate with the Department of Defense's system is far from seamless.

When service members become veterans, their medical records still do not automatically follow them into the VA. When the department refers veterans to private providers in their communities, the only way to transfer records is often by fax.

For years outside experts have been recommending the VA and Department of Defense implement the same commercial electronic health records system to allow for a seamless, lifetime medical record.

In May, the VA began the largest electronic health records modernization program in the country and signed one of the largest IT contracts in the federal government – following the Department of Defense, which began this process in 2013.

As this project moves forward, it must be managed properly.

The VA has a long and troubling history of IT mismanagement, and far too often Congress finds out a government program is failing after it has already become a crisis.

Last month, the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs created a new subcommittee on technology modernization that will provide thorough oversight of the project.

I was honored to be chosen as chairman of this important subcommittee, and I commit to veterans and taxpayers to ask the hard questions.

As the subcommittee prepares for its first hearing next month, ensuring that caring for our nation's heroes remains above partisan politics is one of my priorities.

This is an extraordinary opportunity to achieve a decades-old goal of seamless, lifetime health records. Congress and the VA must remain focused on the actual needs of veterans and the dedicated VA employees who care for them.

Jim Banks, a Republican, represents Indiana's 3rd District in the U.S. House.

http://journalgazette.net/opinion/columns/20180827/streamlined-records-big-boost-to-vets