Senators Bill Cassidy and Jerry Moran have introduced a bill that would halt the implementation of the Oracle Cerner EHR at VA facilities until significant improvements are made. The proposed VA EHRM Standardization and Accountability Act has received support from ten other Republican Senators. Since 2020, the VA has implemented the EHR at five medical centers, but the system has faced outages, put patients at risk, and doubled in cost, all while contributing to decreased employee morale and leading to the deaths of four veterans. Senate Democrats plan to introduce their own bill requiring the VA to implement EHRM reforms.
Senators Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) have introduced a bill that would prevent the implementation of the Oracle Cerner EHR at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities until the VA and Oracle Cerner make significant improvements to the system. The proposed legislation called the VA EHRM Standardization and Accountability Act has gained support from Senators John Boozman (R-AR), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Mike Braun (R-IN) and Steve Daines (R-MT).
VA implemented the EHR at five medical centers in 2020, but since then, the EHR has faced system outages, put nearly 150 patients at risk, and more than doubled in cost. The system has also contributed to decreased employee morale and has led to the deaths of four veterans due to system deficiencies.
The VA OIG released a report in July 2021 highlighting major concerns with the new EHR system, prompting VA to pause further implementation of the system. The agency later extended the pause until June of 2023.
The VA EHRM Standardization and Accountability Act would create a list of requirements that the VA must meet before deploying the EHR at more medical centers. This would be done in collaboration with its vendor Oracle Cerner.
“I support Secretary McDonough’s decision to delay the rollout of the EHR system, and this legislation will create a list of requirements VA, in collaboration with its vendor Oracle Cerner, must meet before implementation of the system can resume,” said Moran. “Without these changes, it would be irresponsible to continue implementing the system at additional VA centers.”
Senate Democrats also plan to introduce their own legislation requiring VA to implement EHRM reforms. The bill aims to restructure, enhance, and strengthen the EHRM program while mandating aggressive reporting to Congress to increase oversight, accountability, and transparency following a series of challenges with the system and program.
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