Veterans Affairs (VA) Selects Dr. David Massaro to Lead Troubled EHR System

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs selected Dr. David Massaro as acting senior medical advisor for its Office of the Functional Champion to lead the Electronic Health Record Modernization Integration Office.

He serves as the clinical executive representing the Veterans Health Administration and will lead functional initiatives to develop and implement the new EHR and support VA’s medical personnel.

VA is transitioning to a new electronic health record (EHR) system — the software that stores health information and tracks all aspects of patient care — over a 10-year period scheduled to end in 2028.

The new system connects VA medical facilities with the Department of Defense, the U.S. Coast Guard and participating community care providers, allowing clinicians to easily access a Veteran’s full medical history in one location. The VA EHRM Integration Office manages deployment of the new system.

To allow additional time to prepare for implementation, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently updated the deployment schedule of its new electronic health record (EHR) system.

The Boise VA Medical Center, originally scheduled to go live June 25, will now transition to the new EHR on July 23. Deployment of the EHR at VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle, Washington, will shift to March 2023, from August 2022 and the VA Portland Health Care System in Portland, Oregon, will move to April 2023, from November 2022.

The extended calendar will also give EHR vendor Oracle Cerner time to put system enhancements in place and to make improvements to the software, which will further ensure its stability.

Massaro was selected even though the decision to adjust the schedule addressed concerns from Congress about the rollout process and factored in results of VA’s own strategic review.

According to the VA, Massaro was selected for his commitment to EHR reliability. After serving as the VHA’s director for Integrated Health Practice, Massaro was previously the acting chief of clinical informatics operations within the Office of Health Informatics. He was assigned the role of VHA senior advisor for health informatics and director for clinical integration during the establishment of the EHRM IO.

Takeaway: The recent appointment is the latest step taken by the VA to successfully implement the new EHR system