Two federal agencies carry an enormous responsibility for delivering healthcare services. The VA and DoW are the largest providers of healthcare services in the United States but more than their patient population size, it’s the weight of the responsibility of caring for the Veteran and ensuring the Warfighter is deployment ready that makes these organizations standout. To ensure they can meet these vital missions, agency administrators are responsible for continually evaluating healthcare IT and improving patient care delivery.
Given the rapid pace of change in healthcare IT, this is no easy task. To support the VA and DoW, DSI Group, is hosting the DoW/VA & Government Health IT Summit on April 28 and 29, 2026 in Washington D.C. To learn more about the event, the topics that will be discussed, and the key reasons to attend we talked with Hanna Price Kenner, Senior Program Manager at DSI Group about the event. Read on to see what Price Kenner had to share.
Government Technology Insider (GTI): Healthcare modernization across the Department of War (DoW) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is often framed around new technologies. From an operational standpoint, what outcomes matter most when it comes to improving care for service members and Veterans?
Hanna Price Kenner (HPK): When it comes to improving care for military members, Veterans, and their families, it is important to focus on modernizations and new technologies that improve readiness, survivability, recovery and lifelong care. The Department of War and Department of Veterans Affairs will continue to prioritize health IT capabilities that enable force protection and readiness, improve trauma care, facilitate the seamless transition of care across departments, and support better long-term health outcomes.
GTI: Efforts like MHS GENESIS aim to create a seamless continuum of care between DoW and VA. What progress has been made on interoperability and data sharing, and what challenges remain?
HPK: MHS GENESIS’s full deployment is a significant achievement and a major step toward interoperability across the DoW and the VA. The successes of MHS GENSIS include delivering a single, integrated health record across the Military Health System, but challenges remain in full integration with the VA due to differences in system configurations, governance structures, and clinical workflows. The VA will continue its efforts to deploy a modernized electronic health record that aligns with MHS GENSIS and delivers a unified, federal EHR. Efforts will continue to focus on aligning standards, improving user experience for providers, and championing policies that enable seamless data across systems.
GTI: How are technologies like AI and advanced analytics being used today to improve clinical decision-making, readiness, and population health across Military and Veteran healthcare systems?
HPK: Emerging and advanced technologies like AI and advanced analytics are revolutionizing healthcare delivery. These technologies are turning large volumes of data into actionable insights, enabling predictive analytics to identify high-risk patients earlier, supporting clinical decision making with personalized insights and recommendations, and overall helping healthcare providers deliver efficient, more personalized care for Military members and their families. Tools like these can be used to examine readiness analytics, track injury trends, forecast medical needs, and help understand health risks across Warfighters and Veterans alike.
GTI: Military medicine operates across diverse environments—from battlefield care to major treatment facilities. How can digital health tools ensure providers have access to the data they need wherever care is delivered?
HPK: Digital health tools are increasingly designed and implemented to ensure medical data flows seamlessly across the patient’s continuum of care, from operational environments to major treatment facilities. Unified electronic health records help centralize clinical records and enable providers to view and update patient information in real-time. This is critical when care is delivered at the point of injury and needs to be recorded through evacuation, hospitalization, and recovery. Ensuring standardized formats and secure access across health IT systems allows providers to manage patient data and make more informed decisions wherever care needs to be delivered.
GTI: As healthcare systems become more connected, cybersecurity risks increase. What are the most pressing security challenges facing DoW and VA healthcare systems today?
HPK: As healthcare continues to be digitized, systems are exposed to an increasing range of cyber threats. Protecting sensitive medical data is of vital importance to ensure both personal and operational security. A major challenge the DoW and VA face is the continuing need to balance strong security controls with the need for rapid, reliable access to data in clinical and operational environments. Ensuring system resilience, protecting patient privacy, and defending against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats are imperative for Military and Veteran healthcare systems.
GTI: Technology adoption in healthcare often depends on workforce readiness and clinician buy-in. What steps are needed to ensure providers can fully leverage new health IT capabilities?
HPK: Successful adoption of new and emerging health IT capabilities is dependent on having trained and supported clinicians. It is important to ensure users of digital tools receive comprehensive training, ongoing technical support, and workflow adjustments that align with how providers best deliver care and patients engage with their health journey. Engaging clinicians and users early in system development, incorporating feedback, and championing digital literacy will help build trust across providers, patients, and platforms and break down cultural barriers to integration. Health IT systems should be built with usability, security, and interoperability in mind and should prioritize continuous training and user involvement to be successfully implemented and adopted.
GTI: Looking ahead, what priorities should defense and Veteran health leaders focus on now to build a more resilient and interoperable healthcare ecosystem?
HPK: The Department of War and Department of Veterans Affairs are continuing to modernize healthcare systems by focusing on interoperability, data governance, and system resilience to support the seamless transition of data across the continuum of care. Continuing to build upon the successes of MHS GENESIS’s deployment, supporting the VA’s EHR rollout, aligning data governance between departments, improving cybersecurity protections, and fostering interoperability and collaboration are key to supporting operational medicine as well as clinical and long-term care for Military members and Veterans. Investments in advanced analytics, digital health tools, and training will help clinicians deliver better care and enable patients to champion their own health journeys.
Ready to head to the event? You can learn more about registratrion here.