Veterans Administration from Paper Files to Digital Records

“Why in 2009 were we still using paper?” VA Assistant Secretary Tommy Sowers “When we came in, there was no plan to change that; we’ve been operating on a six month wait for over a decade.” 27 March 2013

VA makes transition from paper files to digital records

VA makes transition from paper to digital records, scanning hundreds of thousands of files into database

February 10, 2015 - The V.A., a massive national organization with millions of files, is moving into the 21st century. At the Little Rock Regional Office of the Veterans Benefits Administration that means transferring hundreds of thousands of veterans' personal records to digital files.

"We obviously didn't have enough room for all the file cabinets so we actually had claims folder that were stacked almost completely to the ceiling," said Kim Godeaux, who has worked at the Little Rock V.A. Regional Office for 28 years. "We have heard the term of going paperless and into an electronic environment for several years now, but in all honestly I never thought that I would see it during my career."

"We had over 1,000 file banks full and overflowing with files, over 102,000 paper files," said Little Rock Regional Office Director Lisa Breun. "At the peak it was taking us, locally, over 8 months to complete a veteran's claim and a lot of that was because it was paper. We've gone from over 8 months to finish a claim to under 4 months."

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"The normal claims process when I first came in in 2010 it could have been well over a year-and-a-half," added Davis. "Two years before you got a response, now that response is somewhere around less than six months."

"It's not just about putting claims into electronic form it's also about moving faster and completing more claims," added Breun. read more w/video report>>>