VA paperless initiative may need boost

While the Department of Veterans Affairs has been planning to go paperless for a while now, some groups are skeptical that the agency will be able to migrate seamlessly. According to The Washington Post, the concerns are mostly over how the VA will convert all of its archived records.

The VA has invested in a document management solution primarily to help streamline operations and cut back on a backlog of more than 900,000 disability claims, according to the news source. However, Richard Dumancas of the American Legion said that the VA still hasn't invested in an adequate solution for document conversion services. Hundreds of thousands of backlogged records will still need to be scanned, and Dumancas's group is concerned over the future "log jams" this could generate.

However, the VA and Veterans Benefits Management System have said that they are working to improve the migration of essential data, and that scanning the document isn't the issue, but rather ensuring that the right data can be quickly identified, extracted and used when needed.

"Often, a single record or notation can be the difference in whether a veterans disability claim is granted or denied," Senator Jon Runyan of New Jersey said. "This is why we must work together to ensure that no records are lost, overlooked or otherwise unable to be associated with an individual disability claim."

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