Gail L. Graham serves as Deputy Chief Officer for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Office of Health Information, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In this capacity she oversees the Health Data and Informatics and Chief Health Informatics Offices, which encompass VHA’s national programs in health and medical informatics; emerging health technology; bar code resources; standards and interoperability; health information management, privacy, and security; national data systems; data quality, identity management, and the VA Master Patient Index; IT patient safety; Section 508 compliance; and VA’s library network and health information resources management offices. She is considered one of the nation’s foremost subject matter experts of the electronic health record.

Since joining the Department in 1987, Ms. Graham has been instrumental to VA’s implementation of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Regulations, and has contributed to adoption of national healthcare standards that now serve as the foundation for the Nationwide Health Information Network efforts. Other recent accomplishments include steering development of standard procedures for reporting patient safety issues associated with health IT, and serving as a key advisor to VA’s establishment of its National Suicide Hotline and chat room.