“After an eight-month delay, the Veterans Affairs Department plans to restart its electronic health record and scheduling system overhaul in October, the agency announced Friday.”
“VA was ready to kick off two of three major, agencywide IT upgrades last spring but opted to delay those deployments first due to staff requests for additional capabilities and training, then due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic…”
“’The worldwide pandemic created by the coronavirus disease has shifted the overall priorities of the Department of Veterans Affairs,’ Wilkie wrote in a letter to House appropriators. ‘Our priority is the care of veterans and providing surge capabilities for civilian health care systems.’”
“But, on Friday, Wilkie announced the work would resume in October, and future rollouts would be moved up to ensure the project stayed on the original 10-year timeline…”
“Once the rollout at Mann-Grandstaff is complete, VA plans to begin rollouts at ‘select Midwest facilities that feature a balance of small, medium and large sites,’ including medical centers in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan.”
“Simultaneously, VA’s Office of Electronic Health Record Modernization has been working with Cerner to roll out a new scheduling system, originally set to go live in April…” Read the full article here.
Source: VA Restarts Electronic Health Record Rollout – By Aaron Boyd, August 10, 2020. Nextgov.
