President Donald Trump discussed the Department of Veterans Affairs' EHR system at an event honoring American veterans in Struthers, Ohio, July 25.
President Trump remarked on his staff's recent VA reform efforts, addressing wait times, mental health services and medical record transfers, among other issues. "Since my first day in office, we've taken one action after another to make sure that our veterans get the care they so richly deserve," he said.
"We've begun to process a — seamlessly transferring veterans' medical records," he continued. "Horrible situation. You couldn't get your medical records. And now it's so easy and so good. And the system is fixed, finally, after all of these years."
VA Secretary David J. Shulkin, MD, announced the department's systemwide shift to Cerner June 5. However, since then Dr. Shulkin specified it may take up to six months for the VA to finalize its plan for obtaining its new EHR system.
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a VA funding bill in July that did not allocate additional funding for the transition to the Cerner system, noting the June announcement did not provide enough time to ascertain the cost of a new EHR. The committee said it would "reevaluate" funding for the IT system "at the appropriate time."
Click here to view President Trump's remarks.