The Department of Veterans Affairs is delaying upcoming deployments of the Oracle Cerner electronic health record (EHR) until June 2023 to address challenges with the system and make sure it is functioning optimally for veterans and for VA health care personnel.
“Right now, the Oracle Cerner electronic health record system is not delivering for Veterans or VA health care providers – and we are holding Oracle Cerner and ourselves accountable to get this right,” said Deputy VA Secretary Donald Remy in a statement. “We are delaying all future deployments of the new EHR while we fully assess performance and address every concern. Veterans and clinicians deserve a seamless, modernized health record system, and we will not rest until they get it.”
The modernized EHR will replace VA’s current 40-year-old Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) to document and support all aspects of a veteran’s health care.
This decision comes after VA Secretary Denis McDonough announced in July that VA would delay EHR deployments until January 2023 to ensure that the system’s issues had been resolved. That move came after the VA Office of Inspector General reported cases of the EHR contributing to patient harm.
According to the statement released Thursday, during VA’s subsequent investigation at sites where EHR is currently operational, several additional technical and system issues were identified – including challenges with performance, such as latency and slowness, problems with patient scheduling, referrals, medication management, and other types of medical orders.
“Over the coming months, VA will continue to work closely with Oracle Cerner to resolve issues with the system’s performance, maximize usability for VA healthcare providers, and ensure our nation’s veterans are served by an effective records system to support their healthcare,” the statement continues.
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During the “assess & address” period, VA said it will “correct outstanding issues—especially those that may have patient safety implications—before restarting deployments at other VA medical centers.”
While executing this plan, VA will continue to focus on the five facilities where the new system has already been deployed “to ensure every patient is getting the world-class health care they deserve,” the statement reads.
VA is also sending letters to every veteran who may have been impacted by the system challenges in some manner, asking that if they have experienced a delay in medications, appointments, referrals, or test results to contact it through its call center or online.
Once they reach out, these veterans can expect a member of their care team to follow up with them within five business days to resolve the issue, according to the statement.
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EHR is scheduled to go live at 25 VA medical centers around the country in fiscal year 2023.
For more information about VA’s overall EHR modernization effort, visit here.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.