Dr. Laura Prietula (pruh-TOO’-lah) is the Deputy Chief Information Officer (DCIO) for VA’s Electronic Health Record Modernization Integration Office. In that role, she is responsible for the technical implementation of VA’s modernized electronic health record (EHR) and for ensuring bidirectional communication with the clinical and technical staff at local sites to effectively transition to using this new ecosystem in the delivery of safe health care. She works with the Office of Information and Technology (OIT) to ensure sustainability and responsive customer support for the new EHR.
Prior to her appointment as DCIO in December 2021, Dr. Prietula was the executive director for the OIT Health Portfolio, where she was responsible for the product life cycle and IT software development activities delivering health care, benefits and services. Dr. Prietula also worked in the Veterans Experience Office as acting executive director for Multi-Channel Technology, where she led systemwide transformations, such as COVID-19 Chatbot and Clinical Trial registration and VA Profile (ensuring a 360-degree view of the customer profile) and established the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Profiles used in the modernized EHR, where her primary goals were focused on customer experience (patient, Veteran, family and employees) and positive adoption of new technologies.
Through her over 19 years in VA, she has led enterprise initiatives such as Enrollment System Redesign, Combat Veterans, Identity and Access Management, Veterans Benefits Administration integration with VHA processes, Affordable Care Act, Choice Act, Caregivers, MISSION Act and Contact Center modernization, where she successfully worked across the department and with other agencies such as the Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, Internal Revenue Service, Federal Communications Commission and Social Security Administration.
Dr. Prietula brings more than 28 years of leadership, organizational change management, strategic planning, integration, engineering and customer experience insights from both the private and public sectors. She participates in many federal committees and workgroups to improve data sharing, promote data analytics, enhance customer experiences and incorporate the use of new technologies.
Dr. Prietula has worked in the health, manufacturing, financial and services industries since 1993. She has an exceptional background in conducting disruptive innovations to transform customer benefits delivery, create business synergies and maximize business results.
Dr. Prietula holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science engineering from Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM Mexico) and a master’s degree in decision and information sciences from the University of Florida. She received her Ed.D. in leadership and learning in organizations from Vanderbilt University, in December 2022.
