People
VA's suicide prevention lead departs government
Dr. Matthew Miller, the executive director for VA Suicide Prevention, has overseen efforts to explore the use of innovative solutions during his tenure.
Digital Government
Veterans Experience Office codified under new law
The office was created in 2015 to gather feedback from veterans and their families that would help VA improve its services, although it was never formally established within the department.
Digital Government
Veterans Affairs reduces claims backlog at record rate
The Veterans Affairs Department processed more disability compensation and pension claims in fiscal 2025 than any other previous year.
Ideas
Why veterans need their own health care record and system
COMMENTARY | To restore trust and deliver the care veterans deserve, the VA must prioritize smart investment in technology, better management practices and serious engagement with veteran feedback.
People
VA launches a departmentwide 'review of its mission' as it seeks changes to its operations
Veterans Affairs is no longer planning mass layoffs, but major changes still expected.
Artificial Intelligence
Inside VA’s yearslong AI effort to uncover veterans at high risk of suicide
VA’s REACH VET model scans veterans’ electronic health records to identify those in the top 0.1% of suicide risk and then provide them with more targeted support.
Breaking News
People
VA backs down on mass layoffs, will cut 30K through attrition only
Following significant pushback, VA is reversing course on its plan for widespread RIFs while still promising some staffing reductions.
Ideas
IT excellence: lessons from the VA, the Air Force and abroad
COMMENTARY | Americans want smarter government. Success stories at the VA and the Air Force show it’s possible to transform digital services with the right leadership.
People
Trump nominates Ryan Cote to serve as VA’s new IT chief
Cote previously served as the Department of Transportation’s CIO for two years during the first Trump administration.
Digital Government
VA is overlooking accessibility requirements when procuring IT, watchdog says
VA’s Office of Inspector General said the agency “did not establish a control environment that makes accessibility a priority” when it acquires new systems.
Modernization
Funding for further EHR deployments ‘vitally important,’ VA secretary says
VA Secretary Doug Collins said failing to modernize the agency’s electronic health record system “hurts our community care process because our doctors cannot communicate with the community [or] our doctors internally.”
Artificial Intelligence
Lawmakers demand review of VA’s AI-driven contract cuts
Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Angus King, I-Maine, said the use of AI to identify agency contracts for termination “adds an entire new level of unease connected to the decision-making, security, governance, and quality control of the entire process.”
Modernization
VA needs to better plan appointment scheduling modernization, watchdog says
The Government Accountability Office said VA “has not yet determined how the modernized and updated products used for scheduling will interface and be used to pull and combine the data” from its current VistA electronic health record system and the new Oracle Health software.
Digital Government
Lawmakers propose digital delivery option for GI Bill documents
Bipartisan legislation seeks to provide veterans and their beneficiaries with the ability to receive electronic correspondence about their GI Bill education benefits.
Modernization
VA official touts progress on EHR modernization project
The agency is undertaking “a no-fail mission to deliver a Federal EHR at every VA medical center by 2031,” VA Deputy Secretary Paul Lawrence said.
Modernization
Draft proposal looks to put EHR reform measures back on the table
Draft legislation put forward by GOP members of the House Veterans’ Affairs panel reconsiders EHR oversight and governance proposals that were removed from the Dole Act before it was signed into law in January.
Artificial Intelligence
Democrats raise alarm over AI-driven contract cuts at VA
Connecticut Democrat Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the ranking member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said DOGE’s use of an AI tool resulted in the “wholesale slashing” of VA contracts.
People
VA-based DOGE associate gets ‘the boot’ after publicly discussing his work
Sahil Lavingia detailed in a personal blog how the reality of hunting inefficiencies at the Department of Veterans Affairs was not what he had expected.
Digital Government
VA now has ‘100% visibility’ into its software license inventory, official says
Jeff VanBemmel, director of end user operations at VA’s Office of Information and Technology, told lawmakers that the department’s total inventory of software licenses includes 4,433 commercial off-the-shelf products and another 224 software-as-a-service offerings.
Modernization