Biden Nominates Former Microsoft Exec as VA CIO, Secretary for IT

On November 3, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Kurt DelBene, a seasoned health IT executive, for chief information officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and assistant secretary for Information and Technology.

DelBene spent most of his career as a senior executive at Microsoft, retiring from the company in September as executive vice president of Corporate Strategy for Core Services Engineering and Operations. Previously, DelBene served as president of the Microsoft Office Division.

DelBene joined the Obama-Biden Administration as senior advisor to the Secretary of Health and Human Services from December 2013 to July 2014. In this role, he led improvement work on the enrollment website for the Affordable Care Act, Healthcare.gov.

DelBene helped troubleshoot issues encountered through the first open enrollment period in efforts to set the project up for long-term success.

In his earlier career, DelBene served as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, where he focused on business strategy for technology companies. He also had a stint as a software developer and systems engineer at AT&T Bell Laboratories, working in network switching systems, graphics, and imaging software.

If confirmed by the Senate, DelBene would begin his role as VA CIO amidst the department’s rocky implementation of a Cerner EHR system.

VA has halted the EHR modernization (EHRM) project several times due to patient safety concerns and health IT budgetary shortfalls.

At a House Veterans Affairs Technology Modernization Subcommittee hearing on November 2, members of Congress said they fear VA is moving on to the next site for its EHR implementation before fully addressing patient safety and training concerns at the pilot site.

The department is planning to deploy the Cerner EHR at a VA facility in Columbus, Ohio in February of 2022, but VA Deputy Secretary Donald Remy said that that doesn’t mean VA will go live with the new EHR at that time.

“We’ll have sandbox exercises to make sure that the facility is ready to receive and that we’ve provided them with the tools to be successful,” Remy said.

However, members of Congress on both sides of the aisle said that incoming data from the pilot site in Spokane, Washington is too concerning to ignore.

VA’s National Center for Organization Development conducted a survey in August and September, finding that 83 percent of employees at Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center said their morale has worsened since the health IT implementation last October.

The survey found a significant lack of clinician confidence in using the system. Less than 16 percent of employees reported feeling confident with the system, while 22 percent were neutral and 62 percent of employees said they did not feel confident in their ability to use the system.

Almost 81 percent of respondents said their level of burnout has increased since the EHR implementation, and nearly 63 percent of employees said the deployment has made them consider whether they should continue working for VA.

“If any of us had polls like what that survey was we’d quit these jobs, I’ll guarantee it, because those numbers are bad,” emphasized Mike Bost (R-Ill.), ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) said the Mann-Grandstaff workforce has logged upwards of 61,000 overtime hours over the last year.

“Mr. Remy, there’s a sense that you’re moving on,” she said. “There’s a sense that you’re moving on to Columbus and that you’re done at Mann-Grandstaff.”

Remy noted that the survey results concerned him and acknowledged the department had to “tend to them immediately.” He said that he spoke with the Mann-Grandstaff director after the survey results came out and plans to visit the facility in a few weeks.

“I want the folks there to know we’re not forgetting about them, and we’re not trying to brush them to the side,” Remy said. “We’re hopeful that we’ll be able to make sure that we’re delivering them the tools today and tomorrow to continue the success of the program.”