WASHINGTON, D.C.- The Department of Veterans Affairs is halting future deployment of its new Electronic Health Record (EHR) rollout while improvements are made to sites already using the system.
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), senior member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee issued the following statement through a press release after the VA announced it was halting its EHR rollout on April 21:
“I’ve said for quite some time now that VA should halt deployment of its EHR program in Washington state so that officials can focus their time and energy on fixing the program where it already exists like in Spokane and Walla Walla, based on feedback from VA clinicians on the ground. I’ll say it again: getting it right for VA providers and for veterans who are already counting on this program to work has to be the top priority.
“I hope this reset means real results, but in the meantime, I’ll continue working with my colleagues to pass legislation that implements the kind of aggressive oversight needed to fix the current EHR system while also making clear that the contract negotiation process should put in place the types of incentives and penalties to ensure these kinds of failures never occur again.”
Congressman Dan Newhouse also released a statement on the VA’s announcement:
“The rollout of the Oracle Cerner Electronic Health Record (EHR) system has been disastrous from the start and has put the health and safety of veterans at risk. This is unacceptable. While it took entirely too long for the Biden Administration to acknowledge and take action on their failure to our nation’s veterans, I am heartened to see them finally halt the rollout of the EHR system until the VA and Oracle Cerner take the necessary steps to ensure our nation’s veterans have the care and support they deserve.”
