The Department of Veterans Affairs officially announced Saturday that it has arrested Capt. James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center has launched its Oracle Cerner electronic health record system, marking the first and only deployment of the new software. In conjunction with the Department of Defense system.
The rollout of the joint EHR system at Lowell also marks the final deployment of DOD’s new software – known as MHS Genesis – into department hospitals, facilities and clinics located around the world.
Both DOD and VA contracted with Cerner to modernize their legacy health records systems and deploy new software that is interoperable across both agencies, with the goal of ensuring that transitioning veterans’ medical records are consistent across one department. Can move seamlessly from one system to another. Cerner was later acquired by Oracle in December 2021.
Lovell is the only fully integrated VA and DOD facility in the country, providing medical services to approximately 75,000 patients each year. Robert Buckley, facility director, said in a statement that the launch of the combined EHR system “enables a continuum of care that will enhance our operations as we work to optimize health outcomes for the people we serve.” ”
While Saturday’s deployment in Lowell marks the culmination of DOD’s nearly seven-year effort to implement a modern EHR system across its health care operations, the VA has faced challenges in implementing its new Oracle Cerner system, known as Millennium. is facing, which first started in 2020. ,
The VA halted deployment of its new software – with the exception of Lovell – in April 2023 as part of a larger “program reset” to address technical issues and patient safety concerns at five other VA medical facilities using the new EHR system. In form of.
A VA spokesperson said NextGov/FCW It said in December 2023 that the pause in deployment would continue until the department is confident the software is working properly at current sites and demonstrating “measurable improvements in physician and veteran experience.”
However, the deployment of the EHR system in Lowell was kept out of the VA’s pause and was viewed by officials as an integral part of the department, who eventually refocused efforts to implement the new software at additional VA medical facilities. Was starting.
Why does Chicago matter for the reset?
During a media roundtable Friday, Dr. Neil Evans — acting program executive director of the VA’s Electronic Health Records Modernization Integration Office — said one of the VA’s goals during the reset is to “really put resources into preparing for go-live ” Lovell), especially given its unique status as a joint site.
“This has really been a part of a reset for us,” he said, calling it part of the department’s path toward restarting the EHR system rollout, “as we learn from this deployment and as we “We are doing this in conjunction with the DoD.”
Evans said the five VA facilities currently using the Oracle Cerner EHR system are “small to medium-sized facilities,” noting that “there is value in going live at a more complex site like Lowell with greater patient volume.” .
When it comes to VA-wide efforts to streamline operations at VA medical facilities using the new EHR system during the reset period, Evans said officials are “seeing improvements” at sites and in the department’s software deployment methodology. Also focusing on improvement. Working to “better support all our staff members through the training we provide”.
Previously identified issues with the pharmacy system’s EHR software have also been largely fixed, Evans said. A February report from the VA’s Office of Inspector General warned that about 250,000 veterans could be dislocated as a result of interoperability issues between VA medical facilities using the new Oracle Cerner system and medical facilities still using the department’s older software. Contraindications are being given.
Evans said the VA has implemented “a series of improvements in pharmacy efficiency” over the past year and implemented a reform last April to address discrepancies in veterans’ medical records, though he said some “drug interactions “Investigations Required” is manually verified, and physicians have been made aware at the VA how to do this.