Is the Department of Defense’s EHR replacement drama about to wrap up? The DOD is planning to host demonstrations of a series of “off the shelf” EHR solutions to see which one comes closest to meeting its complex needs, according to a solicitation on the Federal Business Opportunities website.
The document encourages commercial EHR vendors to apply to take part in the showcase, where they will present their qualifications and report on progress towards deeper capabilities, including certification for Stage 2 of meaningful use.
The application asks vendors “whether an EHR product has been recognized or rated by third-party commercial research firms such as KLAS or Gartner, whether the product has attained certification and are listed on the Office of the National Coordinator Certified Health IT Product List, if the product has attained at least Stage 1 of Meaningful Use, possesses substantial commercial market share, or has been recognized by third party user surveys as relatively easy to learn, adopt, use and maintain,” the solicitation says.
The application form also specifically asks if the EHR product has been successfully implemented in a hospital network that has achieved Stage 7 on the HIMSS Analytics EHR Adoption scale.
Other criteria include the ability to operate with low bandwidth capabilities or systems completely disconnected from the internet, which seems to rule out many popular cloud-based solutions. The DOD also wishes vendors to demonstrate analytics capabilities, robust management of patient safety incidents, and overall business support capabilities, as well as plans to achieve Stage 2 requirements.
The demonstrations will be help privately, to avoid the loss of any proprietary information to competing applicants, the solicitation assures vendors. The DOD plans to begin the selection process on October 21.source
