The Department of Veterans Affairs is expanding its use of artificial intelligence while simultaneously retiring dozens of earlier efforts, signaling a more targeted approach as the agency aligns AI adoption with suicide prevention priorities and electronic health record modernization.
VA’s evolving AI strategy mirrors broader federal healthcare modernization discussions at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Healthcare Summit on Thursday. Register now to hear leaders from the Veterans Health Administration, Defense Health Agency and Federal EHR Modernization Office speak about how AI, data and digital platforms can improve patient safety, clinical workflows and enterprise health systems.
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How Is VA Applying AI to Suicide Prevention?
VA’s 2025 AI use case inventory, released in January, includes continued use of the Recovery Engagement and Coordination for Health–Veteran Enhanced Treatment, or REACH VET, program, Nextgov/FCW reported Friday.
First deployed in 2017, the predictive model identifies veterans in the highest tier of suicide risk to support targeted outreach and early intervention. VA released an updated version of the model last year to incorporate additional risk factors, including military sexual trauma.
VA also disclosed a new pre-deployment effort focused on analyzing Veterans Crisis Line call data. The initiative will evaluate acoustic and linguistic indicators to help identify imminent suicide risk and assess the effectiveness of crisis interventions.
How Does VA Address AI Risks?
Oversight of patient-facing AI remains a focal point as VA expands adoption. In a report released last month, the VA Office of Inspector General warned that the Veterans Health Administration lacks a formal mechanism to identify and resolve risks associated with generative AI in clinical settings. The watchdog raised concerns about patient safety in the absence of standardized risk management processes.
Responding to the report, VA told Nextgov/FCW that AI tools are used strictly as support systems and that clinical decisions remain the responsibility of VA staff.
What Role Does AI Play in EHR Modernization?
The inventory also highlights how VA is positioning AI to support its electronic health record modernization effort.
The VA will restart its federal EHR rollout at 13 facilities, ending a hiatus that began in 2023. The program had been sidelined to resolve persistent usability issues and enhance patient safety protocols. VA’s AI strategy, released in October, states that early AI use cases will inform how the technology is eventually integrated into the new EHR platform.
The inventory includes five AI initiatives led by the Office of Electronic Health Record Modernization, including a pre-deployment effort involving a clinical AI agent designed to reduce administrative burden by assisting with documentation and workflow management during patient visits.
How Does AI Adoption Fit Into VA’s Broader Modernization Push?
VA’s AI adoption is unfolding alongside major investments in healthcare infrastructure. The department recently announced plans to invest $4.8 billion in fiscal year 2026 to modernize and repair medical facilities nationwide. Of that total, $1 billion is allocated to EHR modernization.
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