[medinformatics] Veterans Affairs Secretary Resigns

[Medical Informatics News]

U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Anthony Principi resigned Wednesday.* In
St. Petersburg, Florida Principi helped steer Bay Pines VA
Medical Center through multiple federal investigations that examined allegations of mismanagement and a flawed
trial computer system over the past yearFrom the St. Petersburg Times:

Principi joined the Cabinet at the start of the president’s first term, in January 2001.* “After four years
dedicated to a profoundly important mission and department I love, it is now time for me to move on to fresh
opportunities and different challenges,” Principi wrote to Bush in a letter released at the White House.


The Department of Veterans Affairs administers health care and retirement
benefits for about 26-million former members of the U.S. military. It operates hospitals and clinics nationwide and
spends about $59-billion a year.


The department this year undertook a $1-billion reorganization of its health care system, closing hospitals in
some areas where demand was low and opening new facilities and clinics in other parts of the country. The VA
installed the pilot computer project at Bay Pines in October 2003 and planned to roll it out nationally starting last
spring. But a combination of mismanagement and computer glitches led to surgery cancellations and accounting
irregularities.


Afer spending $278-million, Principi scrapped the pilot in July.



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