U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospital employees continue to deal with problems with the agency’s new Oracle Health EHR ahead of a big expansion of the system, The Washington Post reported Dec 3.
The VA put the EHR rollout on hold as it addressed technical issues, but plans to go live at 13 medical centers next year and the remaining 145 facilities by 2031, a project that could cost up to $50 billion.
However, the EHR is still beset by patient-safety issues, including disappearing notes, incorrect medication dosages, missed alerts and even patients being incorrectly marked as deceased, VA staff told the Post.
“Oracle is proud to be working with VA and the Trump administration to finish the EHR modernization project, so we can collectively deliver the world-class EHR this country’s veterans and the providers who care for them deserve,” Seema Verma, executive vice president and general manager of Oracle Health and Life Sciences, stated to the publication.
A VA spokesperson told the newspaper: “Once complete, [the] EHR will revolutionize the way VA works with the Department of War and veterans to deliver care by improving customer service and convenience for our patients. [Former President Joe Biden’s] political appointees’ mismanagement of VA’s electronic health record modernization effort resulted in a program that was nearly dormant for almost two years.
“The Trump administration won’t repeat those same mistakes and is already moving quickly to accelerate deployment of the system and bring the project to completion as early as 2031.”
