The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has increased funding for its ongoing Electronic Health Record (EHR) Modernization Program by $17 billion. The department has also expanded its options by extending its contract with Oracle Health for up to three years, bringing the total contract value to $27 billion.
The federal Oracle EHR system is designed to provide military personnel and veterans with unified patient health records. The system is also used by the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The expanded scope of the contract, posted on the federal contracting website Wednesday, includes an attachment indicating the award amount, although no further details were provided.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issued a modified 2017 EHRM performance work statement. The updated agreement could extend the contract for up to three additional one-year periods, potentially continuing the rollout of the new EHR system across VA facilities through May 16, 2031.
Although the Oracle EHR system has been fully deployed across the Department of Defense, it has so far been implemented at 14 of the VA’s 164 medical centers since the rollout began in 2020.
Oracle acquired Cerner, the original federal EHR provider, for $28.3 billion in 2022. Following a contract renegotiation in 2023 valued at $10 billion, the VA’s EHR rollout was originally scheduled for completion by May 2028.
Three years ago, the VA paused its EHR modernization program to address significant technical problems and patient safety concerns identified in several investigations by the VA Office of Inspector General.
After an 18-month pause, the program resumed its rollout efforts.
In June, three VA facilities in Southern Ohio transitioned to the Oracle EHR system and went live, following the implementation at four Michigan facilities earlier in the year.
According to the VA’s deployment schedule, three facilities in Indiana were scheduled to implement the Oracle EHR on August 22, with VA medical centers in Alaska and Cleveland expected to follow later in the year.
