VA Plans AI Expansion to Cut Weekly Paperwork and Free Staff to Serve Veterans

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) plans to expand its use of artificial intelligence to automate internal administrative processes, as its acting chief AI officer detailed planned deployments and workforce support.

VA acting Chief AI Officer Kimberly McManus described the initiative at a September 2 GovCIO Media & Research event. She said the agency is targeting internal, manual processes that pull employees away from serving veterans.

Results from current AI deployments:

• Employees using general-purpose AI tools save approximately 6 hours per week
• 80% of users report improvements in job satisfaction and more time for veteran interaction
• A clinical AI tool is associated with a 22% decrease in opioid overdose mortality
• An AI colonoscopy tool increased detection of precancerous growths by 21%
• An AI fraud detection system identified more than 1,000 potential incidents and saved a few million dollars
• Ambient dictation technology is available to more than 11,000 healthcare providers

Planned priorities:

• New general-use AI capabilities targeting paperwork-heavy processes
• Greater investment in workforce enablement, customer success, and AI literacy programs
• Role-specific training alongside broad AI literacy for the agency's 400,000-person workforce

McManus said AI literacy will need to cover both safe use and effective use as tools expand across the workforce. She indicated VA will continue drawing on commercial technology as its AI strategy evolves.

Read the full article on MeriTalk.