VA Deputy Secretary Paul R. Lawrence Visits VA Northern Indiana Health Care System to Oversee EHR Transition

View the On The Road With Dr. Paul Lawrence video to hear firsthand about his recent visit to the Marion and Fort Wayne VA Medical Centers, where he met with leadership, super users, and the pharmacy team to discuss preparations for the Federal Electronic Health Record deployment in 2026.

Lawrence visited both Marion and Fort Wayne VA Medical Centers, meeting with both VISN 10 and local executive leadership, EHRM Super Users, and EHRM Change Leadership Team.  He also toured pharmacies on both campuses learning how the EHR transition is progressing in that service.

As VA Deputy Secretary, Lawrence is the Department’s second-in-command and chief operating officer directing policy and operations while ensuring coordinated action and compliance with the Secretary’s directives.  One of his chief goals is to ensure the smooth transition to the new EHRM system.

The new, common Federal EHR will provide a single, accurate, lifetime health record for Veterans and include their health records from the Department of Defense, U.S. Coast Guard and other federal partners.

For Veterans, this will result in improved standardization of health care delivery, patient care quality and safety. The modernized EHR also supports a more coordinated experience for VA staff and clinicians as they care for Veterans and will improve interoperability with the rest of the American health care system.

The main objective of Lawrence’s visit was to hear firsthand from those with boots on the ground about how the transition is going and what challenges they face, along with their successes to be shared with other facilities soon to face the change.

“I came away with several take aways,” said Lawrence.  Top three things to focus on for Lawrence were, “focusing more on scheduling and training, and how that effects our Veterans.  We don’t want to cancel their care in this process. Next, is understanding that fewer meetings and more hands-on experience is important so that our people may work on the product and get ready for the change. Also, sharing best practices with others in the process at our facilities and acorns the enterprise.”

Local leadership was enthusiastic to share with the deputy secretary all their experience in EHRM transition experience.

“It was great having Dr. Lawrence and his team here.  We always enjoy showing off the great work we do here at VANHICS,” said VANIHCS Executive Director Jon Beidelschies.  “I was very happy to spend time in our pharmacy.  We’ve got some experts there. The team does a great job so I was glad that he could see their good work as well as have some take aways that hopefully help some of the other facilities.”

Those championing change efforts for VANIHCS shared much with Lawrence.

“Our Change Leadership Team was excited to spend time with Dr. Lawrence and discuss the work we've done on our journey to deploy the new health record system. We shared concerns we received from frontline staff, but also ideas to improve training and communication for future deploying sites,” said Change Leadership Team Lead Olivia Western. 

During his tour of pharmacies, Lawrence talked with frontline staff about the transition.

"Pharmacy staff and I were excited to meet with Dr. Lawrence and share our knowledge and expertise related to the Electronic Health Record Modernization,” said VANIHCS Chief of Pharmacy Scott Ganger. “Dr. Lawrence is clearly motivated to support our staff in making the FEHR as successful for patient care as possible, and we are willing partners to lead the way for VA nationally. I am excited to see what we can collaboratively accomplish in the coming months to continue providing world class health care for Veterans."

According to Acting VISN 10 Deputy Director Josh Rawlings, progress is going well in the region.  “Indiana is really doing great.  We are watching Michigan closely and collaborating with Columbus who already has the EHR. We are taking lessons learned there and really excited to watch them tackle this.”

"I am incredibly proud of the outstanding effort and dedication our staff is demonstrating in the Electronic Health Record Modernization initiative,” said Beidelschies. “Their hard work and commitment to this critical transition are ensuring that we provide our Veterans with the best possible care. This is a significant step forward in enhancing our healthcare delivery, and it is impressive to see everyone working together towards this common goal."

The Federal EHR connects with over 90% of U.S. hospitals and more than 100,000 participating provider organizations through the joint Health Information Exchange, including the CareQuality platform.

Launched in partnership with DoD and the Federal EHRM office in April 2020, the joint HIE allows providers to quickly and securely access patient data from participating community partners and health systems. VANIHCS will fully complete its transition by August 2026.