June 28, 2018
Dive
Brief:
- The U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs will begin implementing Cerner’s EHR in
October in three Pacific Northwest hospitals and go live in March 2020,
Acting VA Secretary Peter O’Rourke told a House committee Tuesday.
- The
hospitals in Seattle, Spokane and American Lake, Washington, will be the
first to undergo modernization under a 10-year project to overhaul the
VA’s medical records system.
- Lawmakers at the Committee on
Veterans Affairs hearing expressed concerns that a lack of stable leadership
and transparency at the mammoth department could undermine the effort.
“Leadership will make or break this project,” Rep. Tim Walz,
D-Minnesota, said.
Dive
Insight:
O’Rourke
said the VA is working closely with the Department of Defense to avoid some of
the problems DoD has encountered in its own implementation of Cerner’s EHR, and
to “collaborate on best practices for business, functional, and IT workflows,
with an emphasis on ensuring interoperability between the two agencies.” The
Coast Guard is also joiningDoD's
rollout.
On
Wednesday, VA Secretary nominee Robert Wilkie said during a hearing on his
candidacy said he would not commit to
going live with a new EHR system until it had been properly tested.
The
VA’s Program Management Office will oversee costs, schedule and
performance-quality objectives of the project and ensure risk-mitigation
strategies are deployed where appropriate.
The
project is set to replace the VA’s homegrown VistA medical records system,
which is 40 years old and showing clear sign of wear and tear.
Cerner signed the contract in
May. The company first announced the
$10 billion no-bid contract in June 2017, but it was slow getting off the
ground due to interoperability issues and reports that President Donald Trump’s
inner circle may have influenced the delay.
Cerner blamed
the slow progress for weaker-than-expected revenue growth in
the first quarter of this year, despite a 12% year-over-year increase in
bookings.
Walz
pressed for additional oversight of the contract outside the VA. “The
Government Accountability Office should be in attendance at every single
governing board,” he said. “GAO must have direct and frequent access to VA,
Cerner and program management support contractors.”
Committee
Chairman Phil Roe, R-Tennessee, emphasized the size of the project. “$15.8
billion over 10 years, including $10 billion to Cerner, is a staggering number
for an enormous government agency,” he said. “The EHR modernization effort is
not just a technology project. It will have a major impact on how the Veterans
Health Administration operates,” such as clinical and administrative workflows
and culture.
The
House is forming a small oversight panel to monitor the system’s
implementation.
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