The latest update, according to Tony Abraham from HealthcareDrive, is that there is now an office created by the VA.
At first glance, one might eye-roll at how slow this process seems. For those handling the transition, a dedicated office is very good news. The Office of Electronic Health Record Modernization was created specifically to help, guide, and maintain the Cerner transition for the next 10 years. Providers in this project have also been using the agency’s antiquated VistA system.
The decision to establish the VA Office of EHR Modernization stems from past feedback from previous related installs in which the implementation was either lacking or not working up to par. The project had an originally estimated cost $10B; most recently reviewed, it is expected to be closer to $16B by the end.
VA’s Acting Secretary Peter O’Rourke said, “As technology and the needs of our Veterans evolve, we must also evolve our systems to support better care for our Veterans.”
The Office will be led by Genevieve Morris, who currently serves as the Principal Deputy National Coordinator for the Department of Health and Human Services.
The first implementation will begin in October with three hospitals in the Pacific Northwest expected go-live of March 2020.
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