VA officials, long optimistic about the $472-million computer system, now question whether it can be fixed.
By PAUL DE LA GARZA
Published June 18, 2004
WASHINGTON - For the first time, the Department of Veterans Affairs acknowledged Thursday that a $472-million computer system at Bay Pines VA Medical Center may not ever work correctly.
The Core Financial and Logistics System, designed to track finances, payments to vendors and inventories, has been plagued by problems since it was installed last October at Bay Pines.
VA officials previously have said improvements to the software and better training of Bay Pines workers would correct shortcomings that have resulted in delays in surgeries, shortages of supplies and late payments to vendors.
But VA officials now question whether the computer system, which was introduced at Bay Pines and expected to be installed in VA facilities nationwide, can be fixed.
"Does CoreFLS work as it should for VHA (Veterans Health Administration)? No," said the document prepared for a congressional hearing held Thursday. "Will it ever, and if so, when and how much will it cost? Unknown if it can ever work as VHA needs it to, or what the time frame and cost might be to make it work."
Among the specific problems with CoreFLS cited in the VA report:
Some accounting practices CoreFLS was supposed to shore up have become more pronounced.
The VA regional office in St. Petersburg cannot transfer millions of dollars to other facilities within the region promptly because CoreFLS is not linked to another system.
Major fixes and testing of software are on hold, pending management decisions in Washington.
The use of the system by hospital staff cannot be readily monitored and poses a major security problem.
After eight months of testing CoreFLS at Bay Pines, the VA document said, "overwhelming time and effort daily are being devoted to resolving issues, including software development."
The VA assessment echoes the frustration at Bay Pines, the nation's second-busiest VA facility. Hospital staff complain they cannot do their job because of problems ordering supplies and paying vendors.
Yancy Dorn, the union president at Bay Pines, said in a recent interview that CoreFLS has hurt staff morale. He said in some cases staff members have bought hospital supplies such as gloves with their money.
"The employees here are sick of it," said Dorn, who said the computer system should be scrapped. "We're trying to take care of the veterans, and we can't even get gloves to put on to draw blood."
BearingPoint, the contractor that installed CoreFLS and is responsible for making it work, will not comment until it has reviewed final reports by federal investigators and independent auditors, a company spokesman said.
Rep. Michael Bilirakis, R-Tarpon Springs, criticized the VA during the hearing held by the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs for paying BearingPoint a $227,000 bonus for installing CoreFLS on time. He also chastised the VA for recently awarding the company a separate $445,000 VA contract.
"Given the amount of money spent on (CoreFLS)," Bilirakis said, "I would question those decisions."
He also asked the VA to look into allegations that Bay Pines has been unable to account for $18-million as a result of flaws with Core-FLS.
The VA has hired Carnegie Mellon University to assess Core-FLS, which is the target of multiple federal inquiries.
VA Secretary Anthony Principi has said he will decide whether to roll out CoreFLS nationally after he reviews the Carnegie report and the results of an investigation by the VA inspector general.
At the committee hearing Thursday, Deputy VA Secretary Gordon Mansfield said Principi also wants to review the findings of an investigation by the House Appropriations Committee, chaired by Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Largo.
The VA had planned to expand CoreFLS nationwide starting in February to manage the VA's $64-billion budget. Principi put that plan on hold pending the outcome of the various investigations.
VA officials have declined to answer specific questions from the Times about the computer system, citing the ongoing investigations. But they said progress has been made in several areas.
Mansfield said trial runs of CoreFLS at a regional benefits center in St. Louis and the National Cemetery in Bushnell have not had as many problems as the one at Bay Pines. He said after the hearing that the situation at Bay Pines had improved to the point "where they can run the hospital."
Surgeries, for example, are back on schedule, he said, and problems with tainted surgery tools seemed to have been corrected. "We're still concerned and we're still putting extra effort into it," Mansfield said. "But I think we've got it stabilized."
The VA said in its report that it rejected a plan for additional training submitted in April by BearingPoint. It said the plan "was not appropriate for the unique situation" at Bay Pines.
BearingPoint is reworking the training plan, the VA said.
If the computer system was abandoned, the VA indicated other software on the market may not perform any better.
- Paul de la Garza can be reached at delagarza@sptimes.com or 813 226-3432. [Last modified June 18, 2004, 01:13:22]
