VA Plans Next Generation EHR System
First procurement for Department of Veterans Affairs’ next generation EHR system released
Armed with a $219 million grant, the Department of Veterans Affairs is starting the process of upgrading its infrastructure. The upgrade, dubbed the VistA Evolution Program, is an effort by to "replace the aging VistA Web and EHR viewers with a single viewer that supports the VA/DoD interoperability efforts," as explained by EHR Intelligence.
The focus on the upgrade will be to offer a streamlined information system between the VA and Department of Defense. The Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture is the current system used by the VA that contains an outdated base code in the Mumps language. With local code additions and patches used, the entire system has gotten very complicated over the years.
NextGov explains the Interagency Program Office wants to offer this technology to veterans, military service members, and beneficiaries so they can access their electronic health records from a unified platform. The Veterans Health Administration plans to hire workgroup coordinators who will help manage and develop the new interfaces. The coordination contract is for one year and two optional years, and will have the coordinators working closely with the moribund Defense Department and VA Interagency Program Office. The official contract states that the program will work on "standing up numerous EHR functional capabilities related to the VistA Evolution Program."
The new VA EHR system is expected to debut in 2016 in two segments. Hospitals and clinics will be included in the first segment release, and field hospitals, ships, and aircraft will be included in the second segment, reports NextGov. The plans are to deploy the new systems to clinics and hospitals by geographic region, and the system will be tested at a site in Ft. Lewis, Washington. By 2019, healthcare providers should all have the new system in place.
Want to publish your opinion?