VETERANS HEALTH CARE: Scheduling Systems and Related Challenges
Description
On June 12, 2026, Carol Harris, Director, U.S. Government Accountability Office, delivered testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Veterans Affairs, Subcommittee on Technology Modernization on the Department of Veterans Affairs' appointment scheduling systems.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) uses dozens of systems to schedule appointments, manage referrals, and monitor wait times for veterans. The department is also in the process of replacing its primary health information system--the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA)--by deploying a new electronic health record system with Oracle Health. However, the rollout of the new system has been delayed due to technical and performance issues. Some of those scheduling systems and tools are commonly used across the department by many VistA facilities. Schedulers at the handful of facilities that have the new Oracle Health system also have an additional set of scheduling systems and tools available.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) uses dozens of systems to schedule appointments, manage referrals, and monitor wait times for veterans. The department is also in the process of replacing its primary health information system--the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA)--by deploying a new electronic health record system with Oracle Health. However, the rollout of the new system has been delayed due to technical and performance issues. Some of those scheduling systems and tools are commonly used across the department by many VistA facilities. Schedulers at the handful of facilities that have the new Oracle Health system also have an additional set of scheduling systems and tools available.