Remember the VA Replacement Scheduling Project?
Retired Lt. Col. Kurt Kosmatka at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington. Charles Dharapak/AP File Photo
By
Bob Brewin
The department cancelled that system in 2009 after spending $167 million and failing to deliver a usable product.
In 2009, the Veterans Affairs Department canceled its patient scheduling system -- dubbed the Replacement Scheduling Application Development Program -- after spending $167 million over eight years and failing to deliver a usable product.
Daniel Dellinger, national commander of the American Legion, told lawmakers at a hearing of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee today that lack of a replacement for the replacement system has, over the past five years, contributed to long patient wait times at multiple VA medical facilities.
Dellinger testified that, as of today, “the American Legion understands that there is still no workable solution to fixing VA’s outdated and inefficient scheduling system.”
He urged development of a new system that will allow VA patients to register online for appointments within 24 hours. He also called on VA to create a records system that both the Veterans Benefits Administration and VHA could share to more easily exchange information. A common system could even synchronize care visits in conjunction with compensation and pension examination,” Dellinger said.