The audit, which was published Aug. 21 and is based on visits to eight Veterans Health Administration facilities and interviews with 78 more, found that, overall, the facilities’ staff have failed to upload documentation into patients’ EHRs in a timely manner. As of July 2018, at least 597,000 electronic documents, some dating back to October 2016, still need to be entered into the system, while, together, all the paper documentation needing to be scanned would measure about 5.15 miles high.
Beyond this backlog, the audit reports that even when files are entered or scanned into EHRs, VHA staff do not always conduct appropriate reviews to ensure the electronic files are legible and high-quality.
To address these deficiencies, the OIG offered the VHA nine recommendations, centering on ways to reduce backlogs, increase staffing resources and training, and develop more stringent monitoring roles and procedures. “These actions are necessary to help ensure veterans receive appropriately informed quality care in a timely manner,” the agency concluded.
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