8 industry leaders to advise EHR implementation at the VA

Electronic health record vendor Cerner, which is replacing the Veteran Administration’s VistA EHR with the Cerner Millennium product, has created a nine-member advisory board to guide the vendor through the transition process.

Former U.S. Senator and Nebraska Governor John Kerry, a Medal of Honor recipient for heroism in the Vietnam War, will chair the advisory group.

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In a statement, Kerry said he was honored to lead the group, having received years of treatment from the VA and experiencing firsthand the challenges that veterans can face in getting care.

Travis Dalton, a senior vice president at Cerner, emphasized the importance of getting advice and guidance from the new advisory board. “As we work with VA to modernize its health record system, the members of this group will provide advice and guidance on our approach to improving every veteran’s experience across the system of care, both within VA and with community providers.”

Advisory group members include:

• Roger Baker, a consultant covering government technology issues and a former CIO at the VA as well as former CIO at the Department of Commerce, among other posts.
  
• Daphne Bascom, MD, a senior vice president and medical director of community integrated health at the YMCA of Greater Kansas City.
  
• Vivian Greentree, senior vice president and head of global corporate citizenship at First Data and a Navy veteran who helped found Blue Star Families.
  
• Karen DeSalvo, MD, a former national coordinator for health information technology and a former acting assistant secretary at HHS.
  
• Marina Martin, a technology entrepreneur and former chief technology officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  
• James Peake, MD, a senior vice president at CGI Federal and a former secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  
• Jonathan Perlin, MD, president of clinical services and chief medical officer at hospital chain HCA, who has expertise in advancing electronic health records and data analytics.
  
• Brigadier General Donald Scott, a retired Army veteran who upon retirement served as chief of staff and CEO of the city of Atlanta and later directed the National Civilian Community Corps.