Department of Veterans Affairs
-
By law, agencies do not have to follow GAO\'s recommendations — but most do, says William Welch, chair of the Government Contracts Practice Group at General Counsel.
October 31, 2011 -
The Department of Veterans Affairs is taking another step toward the deployment of tablet computers to its workforce. VA has sent a request for information to industry in the hopes of buying a mobile device management platform that will let it secure and manage tens of thousands of tablets across the enterprise. The plans call for a deployment of 10,000 tablets running Apple\'s iOS, Google\'s Android and Microsoft\'s Windows Mobile to start. They plan to eventually increase that to up to 100,000 tablets.
October 31, 2011 -
The Department of Veterans Affairs thinks it can squeeze around 50 million dollars from its technology budget by using hardware and software more efficiently. VA is launching what it calls its ruthless reduction project. For example, employees will be given a choice of a laptop or a desktop computer - not both. VA will get rid of printers at individual employee desks and move to multifunction devices. And they\'ll implement more server virtualization, to cut down on the physical IT infrastructure they operate.
October 31, 2011 -
As the intelligence community looks for ways to cut its budget over the coming decade, it\'s turning to IT efficiency to be a big contributor. The director of national intelligence says he intends for agencies to get half of their budget savings by implementing more collaborative and common IT architectures, and migrating more services to cloud computing. DNI James Clapper says the stretch goal will take some up-front investment, but he hopes the IT initiatives will pay big dividends over the next ten years.
October 31, 2011 -
The Veterans Affairs Department is trying to get the wider public to adopt the \"Blue Button\" technology it developed to give its patients direct access to their medical information. Atlanta-based RelayHealth won a department-sponsored contest for the fastest company to develop and implement the single-click technology that allows patients to download their health records.
October 31, 2011 -
Veterans with mental health issues receive care comparable to that available in the private sector but the care falls short of standards set by the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to a new report. Dr. Kate Watkins, who conducted the study for the RAND Corporation, told Federal News Radio where VA has succeeded and where it has failed.
October 28, 2011 -
The agency\'s task force detailed potential areas to cut the cost of technology in a 104-page report sent to the chief information officer this week. Stephen Warren, VA\'s principal deputy CIO, said the agency expects to save at least $50 million over the next year.
October 19, 2011 -
VA will test the use of the ideas in the agency\'s Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) Program, according to a VA release.
October 18, 2011 -
The Lebanon Medical Center in Pennsylvania is using a new dashboard to measure how it\'s implementing sustainability efforts. VA expects to save or avoid about $178,000 in the first year of the portal\'s use at the facility.
October 11, 2011 -
Richard Cheng, lead of the Agile Center of Excellence at Excella, joins host John Gilroy to talk about developing software in today\'s rapidly changing technology environment. October 4, 2011
October 04, 2011 -
The Morning Federal Newscast is a daily compilation of the stories you hear Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Amy Morris discuss throughout the show each day. The Newscast is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com users more information about the stories you hear on the air.
September 29, 2011 -
Roger Baker, the Veterans Affairs Department chief information officer, said only about 1,000 users will have agency supplied devices that will be allowed to access VA systems. VA eventually wants to create an apps store where externally and internally developed software will be made available for doctors, nurses and other employees.
September 29, 2011 -
Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew said the White House will be less dictatorial and more collaborative in finding spending reductions that work for each agency, individually. Lew would not rule out further changes to federal employee pay and benefits. Agencies are encouraged to work with stakeholders, especially Congress, from the beginning of the process to what the cuts should be.
September 28, 2011 -
Three senators say the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill needs tougher oversight after new figures show a quarter of the program\'s funds went to just eight companies that run for-profit colleges.
September 23, 2011 -
Since 2009, Steven Fyfe has been a transition patient advocate at the D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center. His job is to help seriously ill or injured vets when they return from active duty.
July 25, 2011