After suffering delays due to insufficient training, a months-long pandemic and a series of wildfires, the Veterans Affairs Department says it will be ready to launch the first instance of its new electronic health records system by October 24.
The VA began its journey to deploy a commercial EHR system—developed by Cerner—in 2018 and last year announced plans to implement the first live system at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, in early 2020.
In February, VA officials told Congress the agency would not meet its initial go-live date of March 28, citing issues with the training protocol that left staff feeling uneasy about the pending rollout. After that initial delay, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic spread rapidly across the U.S., prompting VA staff to focus on addressing the outbreak.
“The coronavirus—COVID-19—pandemic caused a shift in the VA’s health care operations,” John Windom, executive director of VA’s Office of Electronic Health Record Modernization, said during a hearing held Wednesday by the House Committee on Veterans Affairs’ Subcommittee on Technology Modernization. “In response, OEHRM transition immediately to a non-intrusive posture,” continuing to work on system improvements from afar but physically staying out of the way of clinic staff caring for an influx of patients.
Officials announced in August that the new plan was to deploy at Mann-Grandstaff in October, though Wednesday’s hearing was the first public announcement confirming an official launch date.
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