“The coronavirus outbreak has hit during a precarious time for the Veterans Affairs Department, as the health agency was preparing to start a nationwide rollout of its new electronic health records system—a harrowing trial in the best of times.”
“VA has been working on the latest EHR program since 2018, when then-acting VA Secretary Robert Wilkie signed a contract with Cerner to provide its commercial records management software to the department. The procurement followed a similar move by the Defense Department in 2015 to contract with the Leidos Partnership for Defense Health, which includes Cerner’s EHR product.”
“VA officials originally planned to launch the first instance of the Cerner Millennium platform at Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane, Washington on March 28, however training issues raised by staff at that location prompted leadership in February to make the call to push that date to sometime in July. Now, as the coronavirus upends schedules across sectors, VA is opting to pause the rollout until the crisis passes.”
“’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 last week. ‘Our priority is the care of veterans and providing surge capabilities for civilian health care systems.’”
“The ongoing DOD rollout of its EHR program has been paused due to COVID-19, as well…”
“While the system is closer to ready than ever before, Wilkie said VA clinicians have to focus on the crisis at hand and cannot make time to be properly trained on the system—one of the main reasons for the four-month delay.”
“As of Tuesday, VA has reported more than 3,000 cases of COVID-19 among veterans, including 144 deaths. Agency medical staff are not immune; at least 776 employees had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Monday, leading to at least three deaths.”
“The department is also on call as the nation’s primary backup health care network. In times of crisis, VA can be tapped to open its medical centers to civilians, as well, enlisting the country’s largest single health care network.” Read the full article here.
Source: VA Delays Major IT Programs to Focus on COVID-19 – By Aaron Boyd, April 8, 2020. Nextgov.
