Whether or not the VA is able to get the rollout of its Oracle-Cerner EHR back on track this summer as planned, agency officials told members of the House VA Committee that the VA will need to rely on its legacy EHR, VistA, for another five-to-10 years, if not longer.

“In essence, we are supporting two EHR systems simultaneously, until the Cerner implementation is complete,” Daniel McCune, VA’s executive director of software product management, told the technology modernization subcommittee in a hearing Tuesday. “In the interim, VistA remains our authoritative source of veteran data.” …

The EHR delays and disruptions have frustrated congressional leaders. Technology Modernization Subcommittee Chairman Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) is leading two new bills that would alter the course of VA’s EHR rollout.

One bill would prevent the VA from implementing the Oracle-Cerner EHR at additional facilities, until the system has achieved 99.9% uptime at VA medical facilities currently running on the new system… Read the full article here.