WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) issued the following statement in response to the announcement from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that future deployments of the Oracle Cerner Electronic Health Record (EHR) will be halted while the Department of VA prioritizes improvements at the five sites that currently use the new EHR, as part of a larger program reset, and additional deployments will not be scheduled until VA is confident that the new EHR is highly functioning at current sites and ready to deliver for veterans and VA clinicians at future sites:
“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. I have seen the impacts firsthand at the Walla Walla medical center and the Richland clinic, and they are unacceptable,” said Rep. Newhouse. “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. The facilities currently using the Oracle Cerner EHR, especially those in Central Washington, cannot be left behind.”
Background:
In February, Rep. Newhouse and House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost (R-IL) introduced the VA Electronic Health Record Modernization Improvement Act, which would fix VA’s handling of the Oracle Cerner electronic health record (EHR) system and ultimately ensure that VA Medical Centers (VAMCs) are well-equipped to implement and use the new system, without hindering the delivery of care to veterans and hurting VA provider productivity levels.
Last year, Rep. Newhouse sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Deputy Secretary calling on the VA to provide additional resources to help local medical centers manage the additional workload created by the failed implementation of the new electronic health record system.
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