October Deadline Set to Correct Service Problems at Wenatchee VA Clinic

The Veteran's Administration has a target date of October to resolve shortcomings that have affected services at centers such as the VA Outpatient Clinic in Wenatchee.

Problems were detected in the 2020 rollout of a new records keeping system at the VA Medical Center in Spokane.

Those problems led to reduced safety and access to services at the Medical Center's branch clinics, including the one in Wenatchee.

A report released Wednesday includes recommendations that plans be developed by October to identify and correct the problems.

The Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane was the first VA hospital in the country selected to use a new Cerner Electronic Health Record (EHR) system.

Wider implementation of the system was expected before  glitches and changes were detected with the specific Cerner health record system that didn’t integrate well with the VA’s and Department of Defense’s existing systems.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an investigation and came up with its report, titled Deficits with Metrics Following Implementation of the New Electronic Health Record at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane.

The report concluded that gaps in available metrics due to the new EHR transition impaired the facility’s ability to measure and act on issues of

· organizational performance,

· quality and patient safety, and

· access to care.

The shortcomings affected operations at the Spokane Medical Center's four community clinics in three states.

The community clinics are locate in Wenatchee, as well as Libby, Montana; and Ponderay and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.