Vet Edges Closer to Top VA Health Job

In April, I reported that Dr. Stephen Ondra, professor of neurological surgery at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, had emerged as the likely candidate for under secretary for health at the Veterans Health Administration.

Ondra, an Army Gulf War vet who did his residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center appears even closer to landing the to VA health job, I have learned. He now has a policy-making GS Schedule C appointment and a VA e-mail address.

VA Secretary Eric Shinseki needs to go through a formal process -- which will include the formation of a search committee to interview, evaluate, and recommend candidates for the position -- and while that goes on, I've heard Ondra is serving as a top-level adviser to Shinseki.

Ondra, I'm told, has health information technology in his portfolio, and is working with key players, including Dr. David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, and Charles Campbell, CIO at the Military Health System.

Ondra, a spine surgeon, is a bit of a medical computer whiz, and has used the VA's Chicago Motion Analysis Research Laboratory to help analyze patients before treating them.

The Motion Analysis Research Laboratory taps into the same technology used for special effects by Hollywood. Ondra uses the lab to analyze how a patient moves, including posture and gait.

But, can he help resolve the replacement patient scheduling application debacle?