The introduction of the Oracle Cerner electronic health records system at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago, Illinois, has lawmakers questioning the future of the program at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
According to VA officials, the rollout in March was "promising overall," with no critical patient safety incidents.
But the deployment needed the support of nearly 200 new staff members and 800 temporary workers, including experienced users from military treatment facilities, contractors and experts, raising concerns about cost and viability, said members of the House Veterans Affairs Technology Modernization Subcommittee on Monday.
The full rollout of the new medical records system, used now at six VA medical centers, has been on hold since April 2023 over concerns for patient safety, a lack of user-friendliness and pharmacy components. Its introduction at Lovell, a joint facility operated by the VA and Defense Department, was to serve as a test bed for resuming the deployment VA-wide next year.
But given the effort and resources needed to ensure a smooth rollout at Lovell, lawmakers are wondering whether the VA can sustain that level of attention at future sites.
Patricia Kime focuses on military personnel and veterans issues for Military.com, reporting on health care, military families, justice and benefits. She has covered military issues for decades, reporting on combat-related illnesses and injuries, the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Read Full Bio
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