Internal emails obtained by the publication said the EHR system was rendered unusable for at least five hours and affected Spokane, Wash.-based Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center, Fairchild Air Force Base and military hospitals across the country.
“I am sincerely sorry for the frustration you are experiencing regarding the electronic health record,” Robert Fischer, MD, director of Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center, told staff in an email during the outage. “I know you are doing your very best to see patients and document on paper until the current severe system degradation and downtime have been resolved.”
This comes days after the VA’s Cerner system experienced a five-hour service disruption on April 17.
Currently, the VA has made the decision to halt the Cerner EHR rollout at further facilities until it can fix problems occurring at the five medical centers that have already implemented it.
At the Becker's 11th Annual IT + Revenue Cycle Conference: The Future of AI & Digital Health, taking place September 14–17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will come together to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.
