The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded the third option period for its contract with Oracle Health to support its Federal Electronic Health Record modernization efforts.
VA began renegotiating its contract with Oracle Health from a 5-year term to five 1-year terms in 2023. The move allowed for an annual review of Federal EHR modernization progress and renegotiation with Oracle Health, as needed.
“VA is moving faster to get the Federal EHR to more sites to improve care delivery for veterans,” said VA Deputy Secretary Dr. Paul R. Lawrence. “We are working closely with our vendor, Oracle Health, to make that happen. This option award ensures both the ongoing technical and implementation support VA needs to accelerate deployments and VA’s ability to hold Oracle Health accountable to resolve any challenges.”
Launched by President Donald Trump in 2017, the EHR is designed to provide a single, accurate, lifetime health record for veterans and include their health records from the Department of Defense, Coast Guard and other federal partners. The $16 billion project was expected to take 10 years to complete, but thus far has only been deployed at six VA medical centers and their associated clinics.
VA paused deployment to the EHR system in April 2023 due to patient safety and other concerns, but recently announced the system will be deployed at 13 sites by next year.
According to VA, negotiations for the third option period focused on further cost efficiencies and optimizations to deliver the Federal EHR.
VA also said it would continue to evaluate and align future option periods with the best path forward for its modernization efforts.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.