IDGA's 19th Annual Veterans Affairs Healthcare Summit
July 22-23, 2025
| MGM Hotel and Casino, National Harbor, MD
Conference Day Two: July 24, 2024
TECHNOLOGY APPROACHES
The pandemic has forced the VA to shift the way that it provides patient experience and care. Day 2 will address a full spectrum overview of how to provide the best care for our nation’s veterans.
7:30 am - 8:30 am
REGISTRATION AND NETWORKING
8:55 am - 9:00 am
CHAIRMAN’S OPENING REMARKS
James Gfrerer -
CEO; Federal Business LLC;,
Former CIO, Department of Veterans Affairs
9:00 am - 9:30 am
EQUIPPING PHYSICIANS FOR VETERAN CARE: SUPPORTING MISSION ACT DIRECTIVES THROUGH AMA SUPPORT
Dr. Bruce Scott MD -
President,
American Medical Association
- How the AMA is equipping physicians to better treat veterans
- Unique factors that impact veterans as a care group
- Impact of MISSION ACT on physicians
10:00 am - 10:30 am
PANEL SESSION: CARE ON THE GROUND - VISN AND VAMC DIRECTOR ROUNDTABLE
Tiel Keltner -
Deputy Network Director, VISN 20 (Northwest),
Veterans Health Administration
James Gfrerer - CEO; Federal Business LLC;, Former CIO, Department of Veterans Affairs
Dr. Thomas Ferguson MD - Chief of Staff, Memphis VA Medical Center, Veterans Health Administration
· Insight into how VISN Network Directors, CMOs and VAMC Directors engage into coordination for developing stakeholder support and resourcing to meet the networks programs and objectives
· Evaluating strategies for improving medical care and administrative and operational support across the VISN and within the VAMC
· How VISN leaders and VAMC directors work to determining funding across various VISN care services and various VAMCs
Dr. Thomas Ferguson MD
Chief of Staff, Memphis VA Medical CenterVeterans Health Administration
10:30 am - 11:00 am
NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK
11:00 am - 11:30 am
INDUSTRY INSIGHT SESSION HOSTED BY ASTRAZENECA
Ric Nannini, PharmD, MBA -
National Oncology Account Director, Veterans Affairs,
AstraZeneca
Dr. Jennifer Martin PharmD - Deputy Chief Consultant, Pharmacy Benefits Management Services, Department of Veterans Affairs
11:30 am - 12:00 pm
PANEL DISCUSSION: IMPLICATIONS OF FMBT FOR VETERAN CARE
Dr. Ronald Miller DM -
Deputy Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Support,
Department of Veterans Affairs
Terry Riffel SES - Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Management Business Transformation Service, Department of Veterans Affairs
Laura Duke - Chief Financial Officer, Veterans Health Administration
The panel will discuss how VA is modernizing and integrating its financial and acquisition environments through the Financial Management Business Transformation (FMBT) program and its deployment of the Integrated Financial and Acquisition Management System (iFAMS). This is the largest transformation effort in VA history and represents a comprehensive improvement in business processes, decision-making, and services, which will in turn enhance the Veteran experience. The panel will also discuss how FMBT collaborates with VA’s Supply Chain Modernization initiative to avoid impacts to patient care and delivery of services
Dr. Ronald Miller DM
Deputy Assistant Under Secretary for Health for SupportDepartment of Veterans Affairs
Terry Riffel SES
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Management Business Transformation ServiceDepartment of Veterans Affairs
12:15 pm - 1:30 pm
LUNCH AND NETWORKING BREAK
Track Bloc
TRACK A: MENTAL HEALTH, PTSD AND SUICIDE PREVENTION BLOC
1:30 pm - 2:00 pm THE RAPID MOOD SCREENER: A VALIDATED SCREENING TOOL FOR BIPOLAR I DISORDER- Clinical Impact of Misdiagnosis of Bipolar I Disorder
- Challenges in Differentiating Depressive Episodes
- Development and Validation of the RMS Tool
Sponsored by: AbbVie
TRACK A: MENTAL HEALTH, PTSD AND SUICIDE PREVENTION BLOC
2:00 pm - 2:30 pm EVOLVING CONTINUUM OF MENTAL HEALTHCARE WITHIN THE VA Marsden McGuire M.D., M.B.A. (SES-EQV) - Director, Continuum of Care and General Mental Health, Office of Mental Health, Department of Veterans Affairs· Exploring how the continuum of care fits within the overall mission of mental health and whole health in VHA
· How care provided in the continuum of care goes hand in hand with suicide prevention and in mental health and (increasingly) in integrated care settings
· Use of tools (e.g. AI, predictive analytics) to identify people at risk and create protocols for early identification
· Importance of technology (e.g. self-care apps, increased use of telehealth) to improve Veteran mental health care
· Challenges - for hiring, reaching underserved areas, community care
Marsden McGuire M.D., M.B.A. (SES-EQV)
Director, Continuum of Care and General Mental Health, Office of Mental HealthDepartment of Veterans Affairs
TRACK A: MENTAL HEALTH, PTSD AND SUICIDE PREVENTION BLOC
2:30 pm - 3:00 pm EVERAGING AI, BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE AND COACHING TO BUILD THE MINDSETS AND BEHAVIORS THAT PROTECT AGAINST SUICIDE RISK & ENABLE PEAK PERFORMANCE IN WORK AND LIFE Marissa Berman Psy.D - Senior Behavioral Scientist, BetterUpThe resilience and readiness of our veterans and VA employees are critical to meeting the VA mission. Central to this effort is ensuring that Veterans and VA employees alike are proactively building the skills and capabilities that help them to navigate challenges, build strong mental health and wellbeing and peak performance skills in work and in life. BetterUp's platform leverages a combination of behavioral science, human coaching and AI-enabled technology to provide a scalable, personalized approach capable of meeting the unique needs of Veterans and VA employees.
Sponsored by: BetterUp
TRACK A: MENTAL HEALTH, PTSD AND SUICIDE PREVENTION BLOC
3:00 pm - 3:30 pm NETWORKING AND COFFEE BREAK IN EXHIBITION HALL & WOMEN IN HEALTHCARE NETWORKING CONVERSATION IN PRIVATE MEETING ROOMTRACK B: INNOVATION BLOC
1:30 pm - 2:00 pm PANEL DISCUSSION: MAXIMIZING PATIENT SAFETY AND QUALITY THROUGH GENERATIVE AI David Bowers - Senior Product Manager, SolventumDr. Adam Rothschild MD, MA - Clinical Informaticist, Solventum
1.) Understanding Generative AI: Explain the concept of generative artificial intelligence, its applications, and how it differs from traditional predictive models.
2) Identifying Patient Safety Challenges: Explore existing patient safety issues in healthcare, such as medical errors, adverse events, and communication gaps.
3.) Exploring AI Solutions: Discuss how generative AI can address patient safety challenges, including documentation support, clinical decision-making, and patient engagement.
4.) Measuring Impact: Define metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of generative AI solutions in improving patient safety and quality outcomes as well as improving physician satisfaction
Sponsored by: Solventum
TRACK B: INNOVATION BLOC
1:45 pm - 2:15 pm ONCOLOGY INDUSTRY INSIGHT SESSION HOSTED BY WREN LABORATORIES - A NOVEL PCR-BASED BLOOD ASSAY FOR THE DETECTION AND MONITORING OF PROSTATE CANCER Dr. Mark Kidd PhD - Scientific and Laboratory Director, Wren LaboratoriesThe PROSTest, a proprietary, patented liquid biopsy assay for the detection of prostate cancer (PCa), is one of a series of tests developed by Wren for precision oncology. It uses machine learning algorithms to convert cancer-related gene expression in blood into a single readout to differentiate patients with PCa from those with non-cancerous symptomatic patients. The algorithm output is a score ranging from 0-100, with a cut-off of 50, where patients with scores ≥50 were shown to have PCa. The assay was analytically validated under CLIA and clinically qualified in a multiple clinical studies.
Sponsored by: Wren Laboratories
TRACK B: INNOVATION BLOC
2:30 pm - 3:00 pm TRANSCATHETER AORTIC VALVE REPLACEMENT: TRANSFORMING CARE FOR AORTIC STENOSIS IN US VETERANS Dr. Allison Tsao MD - Interventional Cardiologist, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania- Severe symptomatic aortic stenosis (sSAS) is prevalent in the older American population and has significant morbidity and mortality
- Veterans represent a high proportion of Americans with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis
- Though transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a safe, cost-effective treatment option for sSAS, there are limited VA TAVR centers for the number of veterans with sSAS
- The VA Healthcare System is uniquely poised to build on its integrated care model to improve TAVR access for veterans with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis
Sponsored by: Edwards Life Sciences
TRACK B: INNOVATION BLOC
3:00 pm - 3:30 pm NETWORKING AND COFFEE BREAK IN EXHIBITION HALL & WOMEN IN HEALTHCARE NETWORKING CONVERSATION IN PRIVATE MEETING ROOMTRACK A: SUPPLY CHAIN BLOC
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm PROVIDING INTEGRATED ACQUISITION AND BUSINESS SOLUTIONS ACROSS THE VA David Sloniker MBA, MSS, CRMP, DML - Executive Director, VA Logistics Redesign Program Office (VALOR), Department of Veterans AffairsDr. Aaron Drew - Senior Enterprise Solutions Architect, Office of Information & Technology (OI&T), Department of Veterans Affairs
- assessment of the VA supply chain with the goal of selecting new information systems and business processes for use
- Supply chain impacts of electronic health record and financial management systems as part of VA Modernization
- Integration platforms for VA supply chains
David Sloniker MBA, MSS, CRMP, DML
Executive Director, VA Logistics Redesign Program Office (VALOR)Department of Veterans Affairs
Dr. Aaron Drew
Senior Enterprise Solutions Architect, Office of Information & Technology (OI&T)Department of Veterans Affairs
TRACK A: SUPPLY CHAIN BLOC
4:15 pm - 4:45 pm HIGHLIGHTING THE EFFORTS OF OPERATION GENUINE VALORIn partnership with the Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPRC), we have created Operation Genuine Valor (OGV).
OGV is aimed at safeguarding the VA's supply chain from counterfeit medical products, incorporates a significant training component to enhance the effectiveness of the program
TRACK A: SUPPLY CHAIN BLOC
4:45 pm - 4:50 pm CHAIRMAN’S CLOSING REMARKS & END OF CONFERENCE James Gfrerer - CEO; Federal Business LLC;, Former CIO, Department of Veterans AffairsTRACK B: PHYSICIANS AND CLINICIANS BLOC (Cont.)
3:30 pm - 4:15 pm BRIDGING HEALTH DISPARITIES ACROSS VETERAN POPULATIONS Dr. Edo Paz - SVP, Medical Affairs, Hello HeartDr. Ernest Moy MD, MPH - Executive Director, Office of Health Equity, VHA, Department of Veterans Affairs
Sabrina Clark - Director, VA Center for Development & Civic Engagement, Department of Veterans Affairs
· Supporting and coordinating efforts to understand and reduce disparities in health and health care affecting veterans
· Diversity efforts within the VHA, access to rural health opportunities
- · Managing continued options for reducing disparities among rural populations
Sponsored by: Hello Heart
Dr. Ernest Moy MD, MPH
Executive Director, Office of Health Equity, VHADepartment of Veterans Affairs
Sabrina Clark
Director, VA Center for Development & Civic EngagementDepartment of Veterans Affairs
